Dreams
by dwparsnip
Summary: Diana has some troublesome dreams about Bruce that could test their relationship. Or make it stronger. Rating may go up later.
1. 1:00 AM

1. I do not, much to my chagrin, own Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, J'onn or anything associated with them or the Justice League.

2. Thanks to Alittlesummerwine who corrected a few things for me and encouraged me to post it.

3. I envision this taking place a short time after the end of JLU. This particular chapter is centered on "Starcrossed", but following chapters (if there are any) will center elsewhere.

4. Any feedback, be it positive, negative or indifferent, would be most appreciated.

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The battle raged on around the Thanagarian command ship. She flew like a missile, tearing through the Thanagarian ships with relative ease, her fury, thirst for revenge and knowledge that the mission had to succeed adding to her already formidable strength. Finally, she entered the Thanagarian fortress and began to mete out her punishment to the Thanagarians in a more up front and personal way…just the way she liked it. One by one, and sometimes in groups, they fell by her hand until she reached the shield control room just after the Green Lantern and Shayera lowered the shield around the hyperspace bypass and the Watchtower impacted the Thanagarian structure.

It was then that the Thanagarians ceased their occupation.

When Diana left the Thanagarian ship a short time later, her heart soared to see their objective successfully achieved in the burning wreckage that was the bypass. A few moments passed and she found Kal, J'onn and Flash looking at the destroyed hyperspace bypass.

She knew immediately that something was wrong…dreadfully wrong. She approached her teammates, her friends, and when she saw the grim set of their faces she realized with an ache in her chest that Batman, Bruce, was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing the look of realization appear on her face, Superman stepped forward and gently put his massive arms around her pulling her into a protective and warm embrace.

"Bruce…Bruce stayed on the Watchtower to pilot it down and make sure it hit the target." He hugged her to him more tightly, and then added in a whisper, "I'm so sorry, Diana…I couldn't save him."

Diana pushed away from her friend enough to look past his broad shoulder to J'onn. The Martian understood her request immediately without needing to hear the words or even hear her thoughts. He and Flash had accompanied Batman to the Watchtower. They were the last to see him, to be with him, to hear his voice, and now she wanted to see and hear what they did. He couldn't ignore the plea in her moist eyes, initiating a mind link and replaying his memories of the mission for her.

They got aboard the Watchtower and easily dispatched the Thanagarians keeping watch there.

_"Okay…the Watchtower is ours again. So where's your secret weapon?" asked Flash of the designer of the Watchtower._

_"You're standing in it," replied Batman as though it should have been obvious to everyone._

_Flash was shocked. "Wait. You mean we're gonna…"_

_"Take the Watchtower out of orbit and drop it right on top of their little science project." Batman hesitated for only a millisecond. "Get them to the escape pods."_

_That is what they did. J'onn and Flash lowered the last of the Thanagarians into the pod. J'onn spoke first._

_"Is that the last of them?"_

_"Yeah. The tower's completely pest free," replied the speedster. _

_Neither of them noticed Batman quietly stepping back out into the corridor._

_"Good," he said as he punched the ejection button._

_"Hey!" shouted Flash after the airtight doors sealed and the first movement away from the Watchtower could be felt._

_"What are you doing?" demanded J'onn as the pod moved quickly away from the Watchtower._

_"I can't risk having the Watchtower burn up on reentry. I'll have to guide it in manually. Gentlemen…it's been an honor."_

Diana felt the briefest sense of J'onn's overwhelming grief as he suddenly terminated the link. She shuddered at the serenity and reverence she had heard in Bruce's voice. 'It's been an honor.'

She looked into Superman's blue eyes, the eyes she trusted almost as much as Bruce's and saw confirmation in the dullness that his grief had made of them. 'It's been an honor.' His words echoed in her mind as she cuddled into Kal's chest and moaned the name of the man she respected so much…the man she may even have loved.

"Bruce." It was a pitiful moan as the ache settled throughout her body and reached inward to smother her soul. Soon however, the ache turned into anger, which grew into unadulterated rage, forcing her to throw back her head and scream his name with every ounce of her being. "BRUCE!"

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"BRUCE!"

Diana sat up in the bed of the man whose name she screamed with a force that had nearly driven her upward into the ceiling of his bedroom. Her hands braced themselves on his bed, clutching at the blue satin sheets on either side of her. A thin film of sweat covered her forehead and cheeks, mixing with the tears that finally slid from her eyes and before she knew it, tiny droplets were hitting the sheet that partially covered her.

Her senses and memory told her everything she needed to know. It had been years since the Thanagarian invasion. Years since he almost died saving them all. She was in Bruce's bed in the master bedroom of Wayne Manor, waiting for him to return from his nightly patrol. She had wanted to wait up for him but she'd fallen asleep reading…well, she couldn't remember what book she had been reading. She looked at the clock and was disheartened to see that it was still only one in the morning.

It was a dream. A nightmare. It was one of a variety that occasionally plagued her sleep, though over time those occasions became more and more rare. This had been the first one in months. They were always recreations of events, battles, or missions where Bruce had nearly died. That, of course, gave her subconscious plenty of material to work with.

Only, in her nightmares, he did die and every time she had one of the nightmares, she felt the pain of losing him, even if it was only for a moment. The inconsolable pain was enough to physically hurt her as nothing else could, tearing through her like she imagined one of Zeus' lightning bolts would, ripping into her heart and shredding what strength she had to pieces.

She didn't bother to wipe away the tears as she lowered herself back down onto the bed. She stared up at the ceiling and tried to think of anything but that nightmare, but she couldn't.

She didn't know why that nightmare in particular affected her so deeply. Perhaps it was because Flash had told her what had happened aboard the Watchtower when it was all over and the Thanagarians were gone; and then she asked J'onn to share his memories with her, which he did after a tremendous amount of persuasion. He realized that she had to know what had happened, how Bruce had stayed aboard and only Kal's timely intervention kept Bruce from dying that day.

That was part of it certainly, but she knew that there was something even more personal at work, something more basic: love.

She had loved him then though she hadn't yet realized it. She loved him even more now, and the thought of him dying was as terrifying as anything she had ever felt before.

It wasn't that he couldn't take care of himself. She knew him much better than that. Bruce Wayne had been Batman long before she came into his life, and though he often had close calls and serious injuries, he always prevailed. But he was still mortal.

Diana brought her hands up and let them lock together behind her head, feeling the relaxing stretch in her shoulders and neck. The window was open and a chilly breeze fluttered across her bare arms and shoulders.

The dream, "Nightmare," her inner voice corrected, was probably her subconscious telling her that she was in no way ready to deal with his loss, when it happened. Whether it was six months down the road at the hands of one of the maniacal super villains he routinely faced, or forty years hence when time would finally claim him, she would never be ready.

As her eyelids once again began to succumb to Hypnos' will, she vowed not to let her fears affect her life with the man she loved with all of her heart…not ever.


	2. 2:00 AM

1. I still do not own Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman or anything associated with them or the Justice League.

2. Thanks to Alittlesummerwine who corrected a few things for me and made some wonderful suggestions.

4. Any feedback, be it positive, negative or indifferent, would be most appreciated.

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A loud rush of hot wind and a flash of fiery red light signaled the appearance of his visitor. The master of the realm was not happy to see his 'guest'. The agreement they had made not so long ago weighed on him like Atlas' burden, and it was undoubtedly because of that agreement that he was here now. There would be no other reason.

"How goes my little project?" asked the newcomer, getting straight to the point.

"It is going," he responded tersely. "That is all I can say."

"Really. Have the nightmares recommenced?"

Such evil in that voice. "They have."

"Excellent. You do realize that the sooner the Amazon breaks, the sooner our arrangement will end and you will be rid of me?"

He let loose a grunt of morbid laughter at the condescending tone used by his visitor. "No one is more aware of that fact than I."

"Good." With another flash of light and heat, the visitor was gone just as quickly as he had arrived.

Morpheus, the god of dreams and son of Hypnos, the god of sleep, walked slowly to his dream pool and looked into the crystal clear water. The pool itself lay inside a large basin made of marble he fashioned himself. The heavy basin, in turn rested upon four thin legs made of gold, forged in the fire pits of Lemnos by Hephaestus himself.

The last time Ares had come to this sanctuary was not long after the Justice League defeated Darkseid…and not long after Diana found personal happiness in the heart and arms of another. Morpheus had since realized that this is what had irked the god of war and prompted Ares to deceive him in the fashion that he did, not the original reason that Ares spoon-fed him like he was an infant.

Morpheus placed his hands carefully on the edge of his dream pool and grunted. Yes, Ares was (how do the mortals say it?) a smooth talker. He remembered how the god of war came to him, moaning and whining like a spoiled child, telling of how Diana had meddled time and again in the affairs of the gods, even ruining one of his pet projects. On and on went Ares about the superiority of the gods and about how the Amazon had encroached in their domain too often, daring with unspeakable audacity to involve herself in their business.

How gullible he had been, as Ares demanded that Diana pay and that he, Morpheus, was the one with the means to ensure that the sanctity of their realms be protected. Indeed, he bought the entire story, hook, line and sinker…oh, those wonderful mortals and their colorful sayings. Yes, he had been so taken in by Ares that they had even sworn an oath together to make certain Diana learned her place and was suitably punished.

And to that end, for many months now, Morpheus had visited Diana's dreams, learning what dreams affected her the most until he finally found the key to her defeat, so to speak.

Batman.

Ares wanted her destroyed, emotionally if not physically, and Morpheus had found a way to do it, constantly bombarding her with crushing dreams about her loved one dying horribly. It would erode what was between Diana and Batman; turn everything they shared into a shadow, until she would be forced to leave him for both their sakes…leave happiness and love.

Morpheus sighed and once again chided himself for letting Ares talk him into tormenting the Amazon champion in this fashion. Diana had done nothing to him personally, and anything she did to Ares and Hades was apparently well deserved, if Hermes was to be believed, and Hermes was not prone to exaggeration or lying. He was the messenger of the gods, after all. Clarity was to be expected.

Curse Ares and his flattering and deceitful tongue!

Morpheus sadly shook his head as Diana's beautiful image came into view in his pool, asleep in the bed of this…Batman. Morpheus repressed a shudder at the thought of the Batman. The only time he had tried to enter and influence the dreams of that mortal, he received a headache that lasted for three days, and would have had nightmares himself if he were not the god of dreams.

He wanted nothing more than to leave the beautiful champion alone, to let her dreams unfold of their own volition, but the die was cast. He had sworn a godly oath with one of his own, and he could not, would not, break that oath. Only Ares releasing him from his promise could save Diana's happiness now.

With a remorse filled sigh, Morpheus reached into the pool, and into Diana's dreams…

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'That was the last of my useful armaments. I can't do anymore.'

Even after his voice left the communicator in her ear, she knew better…he would still find a way to do something to help them be victorious. She drove her fist through another mechanical spider and was jumped by two more when his voice filtered through her earpiece again.

'Batman to all points. I could use some air support…since I can't fly…at all.' There was a short pause. 'Now would be good.'

His voice was calm as he fell to the Earth. It was a calmness that was the essence of Batman. He was in control, and even if he couldn't control the situation directly, he had confidence in his abilities to figure it out. More than that, and more to the point in his current situation, he had confidence in his teammates to back him up. She wanted to go to him and save him, but the spiders wouldn't let her. Fortunately, Superman, already carrying the Atom, swooped in like a guardian angel and caught him before he impacted the ground.

She stood there a short time after that call with him, the Atom and Clark as Atom gave them the information they needed to defeat their enemy. Like the field general that he was, he issued orders to the league, tasking her with transporting and protecting their best weapon, the Atom, and telling the rest of them of the plan. He was confidence personified. She could think of no other who exuded such a sense of resolve in the face of overwhelming odds and impossible situations. Not Hector, nor Achilles. Not Jason, nor Theseus. No one.

After he sent her, Superman and the Atom towards the mother ship, he stayed, directing them as he fought. And when his voice rang out in her ear calling for air support for her, it was calm yet commanding…and obeyed immediately by their teammates. She managed one glance back in a second of reprieve from the mechanical onslaught. Metas with powers beyond the comprehension of most were losing ground against the mechanical spiders and tigers, or at the very least just barely holding their own. Yet there he was, running right into the middle of a sea of motorized monsters inflicting severe punishment on them with only two elongated batarangs and his years of expertise in using them.

She managed to catch another couple of glimpses of him as she took the Atom to their destination, and more than once, her heart skipped a beat at the sheer hopelessness of his situation. She didn't have time to dwell on it, however. His orders, his plan, his mission was to be completed. Eventually she delivered Dr. Palmer to his target and turned her attention to the horde of tigers and spiders that were intent of overtaking the League. They had to hold on and give the Atom the time he needed.

More than once she tried to locate Bruce on the battlefield, to no avail. She was still looking for any sign of him when a gigantic spider charged at her. She tried holding it at bay, but the creature ended up pushing her back until she fell. She recovered just in time to avoid being impaled by one of its legs by blocking it with her bracelet and then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a bluish purple liquid erupt from the mother ship just as the spider reared its leg back for one more strike. Instead of coming down on her, the leg fell back harmlessly, as did the spider itself a moment later.

She and Clark found the Atom a short time later in a pile of goo that oozed out of the war machine, but through the elation that Dr. Palmer's appearance brought there was the worry that came with the realization that there was no sign of Batman.

Seeing that Dr. Palmer was none the worse for wear, she lifted off into the sky, and from her elevated vantage point she surveyed the land below, looking for the familiar dark, scalloped cape that would tell her where Bruce was. Several moments passed with no sign of Gotham's protector, when something caught her eye near the spot where she last saw him. What drew her attention to that place was a circular gathering of Justice League heroes, apparently looking at something of great importance or interest. As she neared the assemblage of Leaguers, she could see that some of her comrades had an air of defeat about them; slightly slumped shoulders, deflated postures and deathly silence.

She took in the sight of several scenes where Leaguers appeared to be comforting each other, one of them being John embracing a teary Vixen, though she couldn't understand why. Perhaps the most poignant image for her as she approached the gathering was the sight of Sir Justin, kneeling down on his right knee with his helmet gathered underneath his right arm and his head bowed as if in prayer.

She began to gently push through the crowd, most of whom seemed to be in too much shock to even register that she was trying to pass. Finally, she made it to the center of the gathering and saw what had so deeply affected some of the Earth's greatest heroes, and her heart broke.

Her knees began to wobble, and only for the physical support of the Vigilante who held her upright by placing his hands securely upon her shoulders, she would surely have fallen to her knees.

Diana felt the unfamiliar sting of tears as they filled her eyes, and she shrugged out of the Vigilante's steadying grasp and took an unsteady step towards the object of everyone's attention. She nearly fell after that first step, but her tremendous will kept her upright and she took another step towards it, then another, and another until she was next to him. It was then that her awesome physical and mental strength abandoned her simultaneously, cowardly deserting her in the face of the devastating grief the sight before her brought, giving her no choice but to collapse to her knees beside him.

She forced herself to look at him, at Bruce, lying on his back with the razor sharp leg of a mechanical spider protruding out of his chest. The analytical part of her mind, the deductive side of her that he himself had helped to mold and train, told her that he was dead, that the metal spider leg had pierced his heart. The eyes of his cowl were wide open and fully white, though that same logical side of her mind knew that his eyes were probably closed, and if not, open yet lifeless.

None of that stopped her from hesitantly reaching over with her shaking right hand and feeling the exposed part of his left cheek.

His skin was already cold.

A sob started in the deepest recesses of her soul and worked its way up to her mouth, sending into the hot sunny day a moan the likes of which few had ever heard before. It was the release she needed to be able to reach over and gather him into her strong arms. Hugging him tightly against her, she rocked him back and forth, letting her tears fall freely and whispering his name over and over again.

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Her eyes shot open, and for the second time that night, she tried desperately to focus on her surroundings. She was on her right side, nearly in the fetal position, hugging a pillow, one of his pillows, to her stomach, hugging it so fiercely that it had nearly succumbed to the pressure her powerful grip was putting on its seams.

Still holding the pillow in her iron grasp, Diana gently rolled over onto her back, then, gingerly, as though she wasn't sure if the action would be painful or not, lifted herself into a sitting position.

Diana turned her head to look to the other side of the bed. Seeing that Bruce still wasn't there, and hadn't been by the look of it, she turned with a mixture of disappointment and relief to the nightstand. Her sigh betrayed her fatigue as she realized that it was still only two in the morning.

Diana took a deep breath and tried some relaxation methods ingrained in her psyche from her extensive training on Themyscira. Five minutes of deep breaths and a total evacuation of negative thoughts, combined with a steady internal healing chant, finally calmed her enough to release his pillow.

The pillow fell onto the bed near her right leg, and deciding that peaceful sleep wasn't to be had, Diana put her slender legs over the side of the king sized bed and let her feet rest on the carpeted floor for a moment. After another deep sigh, Diana reached down to the bottom of the bed to where both hers and Bruce's robes lay, picking up her own and pulling it up over her arms as she stood up and tying it tightly around her waist.

Suddenly chilled, she walked over to the opened window and closed it gently, then looked out over his, and lately, her city. She had indeed come to love Gotham despite what most would consider its ugliness, but she had come to discover the most precious thing in the world within its boundaries: love.

Diana smiled at the thought of Bruce, and easily pulled over the large, over stuffed leather armchair that Bruce kept in the room. She had asked him once why he kept such a piece of furniture in his bedroom, and he told her how he sometimes liked to look out this window at the city. She had done it several times since then, and it only took the first time to figure out why Bruce liked doing it. The sparkling lights of the usually dark and dreary city could be mesmerizing.

Once she had the chair in position, she sat down and got comfortable, then let her gaze wander to the twinkling city lights. _"Like diamonds,"_ she thought wistfully.

Diana reached behind her to the top of the chair and pulled down the throw that habitually rested there, throwing it down to cover her entire length and reveling in the scent she found on it…his scent.

It would still be hours before he came home; hours before she would know for certain, with her own eyes, that he was safe; and hours for her to dream more of those terrible, soul-suffocating dreams.


	3. 3:00 AM

1. I still do not own Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman or anything associated with them or the Justice League.

2. I'd once again like to thank Alittlesummerwine for the beta.

3. Any feedback, be it positive, negative or indifferent, would be most appreciated.

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The only sound in the master bedroom of stately Wayne Manor was the soft echo of her short, ragged gasps for air. The only movement accompanying those sounds was her strong feminine hands grasping silently and urgently at the blanket covering her muscular body.

Diana had fallen asleep in Bruce's comfortable armchair, not long after settling in and gazing at the beautiful shining lights of the city of her lover. The lights, while beautiful and mesmerizing, only served to help Diana to do that which she so desperately wanted to avoid…fall asleep.

She tried so very hard to fight it, but Hypnos would not be denied and her eyes, against her will, fluttered shut. And then her mind replayed another mission for her…

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The people of San Baquero were in trouble. The volcano on their little island was roaring to life, billowing smoke and ash into the usually pristine air around the island. Within hours the volcano was going to erupt, obliterating the villages around the mountain and killing everyone who called the island home.

The Justice League had offered to help evacuate the islanders and their offer was accepted gratefully. Superheroes and League civilian workers were working very hard to get every man, woman and child off the island before the volcano blew its top.

Diana was surveying the League efforts when a boulder rolled down an embankment and blocked a convoy of vehicles heading for the evacuation craft. She moved the enormous rock and watched with a sense of satisfaction as the evacuee-filled trucks passed by. The feeling didn't last long, however. There were still people to save.

Flash zoomed up next to her, complaining about one of the many troubles they were having with the evacuation operation.

"Our radios are barely working. I'm spending half my time running messages around."

Though they had been through it in the mission briefing, Diana still felt obliged to point the reason out to Flash again. "It's the electromagnetic interference from the volcano." She reached up to her ear and activated her League communicator. "Superman…how's it going in there? Can you read me any better than before?"

She took in the information from Superman, then she and Flash returned to the business of helping with the evacuation. Flash zoomed off in one direction, and she flew off in another. The evacuation was proceeding as well as could be expected, as far as she was concerned. The remote areas of the island had already been evacuated, with the rally point being the island's main docking port, where the League had landed its evacuation craft.

Her thoughts drifted back to the startling, and slightly nauseating, briefing that Bruce had given them earlier. Luthor, Waller, Cadmus…what a mess it could all turn out to be.

She shook her head at the possibilities.

Diana stopped in mid flight and hovered gracefully in the air. At the docks, one of the League's massive aircrafts was closing its doors, getting ready to lift off. She turned slightly and saw a red streak that could only have been Flash racing towards the docks. She turned in the direction of one of the towns closer to the volcano and saw an ambulance trying to navigate the nearly impassible roads. It was taking too long.

She quickly flew to the ambulance and, using that with which the gods had blessed her, she lifted the vehicle up into the air and flew it towards the dock, arriving just in time to see Flash hand off a child to Vixen, who was waiting by one of the remaining aircraft. She gently lowered the ambulance to the ground and let Flash and the others take care of those inside. She turned her attention to Superman and his progress.

Diana activated her comm. unit. "Superman. Give me an update!" Her eyes opened wide in surprise at his response.

'Unh! Something's come up. Whuh!' There was a loud crash followed by, "Just keep doing what you're doing!"

For the next few seconds she listened to what was obviously a brawl. A teammate was in trouble, apparently fighting against a very formidable foe, so her next words were automatic.

"Where are you? I'll come help!" She took a step, rearing to get into the fight and help her friend, but she stopped when he spoke.

'No! Stay with the evacuation, this isn't important. Getting those people to safety is!'

The conversation ended, and for a moment she thought about ignoring him and going to help him, but he was right. She tapped the nearest transport and yelled, "Move it out!" As the transport began to lift off, she turned and ran to the nearest transport still taking on evacuees. She and Flash began directing the islanders into the transport, and she was all too aware of the increasing amount of smoke that was billowing from the mouth of the volcano.

The line of people moved smoothly and swiftly. Suddenly, her comm. unit beeped, followed immediately by a static filled message from J'onn.

'Wonder Woman can you hear me? There's a missile with a Kryptonite warhead heading for your position.'

She couldn't believe what she heard. A missile? Kryptonite warhead? It was…absurd. She had to be sure. "Say again."

J'onn repeated the message, and Diana turned to look at the volcano, now spewing bright orange flame and dark smoke. _"Clark!"_ He was still in there, as far as she knew, battling Hera knew who or what. _"Kryptonite warhead!"_ she repeated over and over in her mind.

She ran to Flash. "Flash! Get everyone as far away as you can. I'm going back for Superman."

Obviously stunned, Flash tried to object. "But…"

In a tone that left no room for maneuvering on his part, she commanded, "Do it now!" She didn't wait for any more arguments from the speedster. Instead, she took two steps towards the awakening volcano, then vaulted into the sky and headed straight for it.

Her heart was racing as she circled the mountain searching for any sign of Superman. Somewhere in her head, she knew that Clark could take anything. Well, anything but the Kryptonite missile heading towards them. Her eyes darted around the mountain, scanning every crack, plateau and open area for Superman, all the while knowing that the volcano could blow at any second.

Finally she found him, on his knees on a level outcrop, naked from the waist up and apparently battered nearly senseless. She started towards him just as the volcano erupted, increasing her speed when the lava neared him and he showed no signs of moving. She reached him in the nick of time, lifting him away just as the lava flow was about to converge on his position. Upward she flew, dodging the spurts of molten lava that headed towards them as best she could.

When Diana reached a safe altitude, she headed for the mainland where the transports were supposed to rendezvous. It was a short trip, and Superman was silent the whole time, not even saying a 'thank you' to her for the rescue. She couldn't blame him…he looked like he had taken an incredible beating.

When she came to a landing near the transports on one of the mainland's airfields, Superman finally looked at her and smiled. Bringing her into a gentle hug, he whispered, "Thanks."

She smiled, despite the fact that he smelled like a smoked mackerel, and responded with, "Anytime." She leaned back and added, "Let's get you to the Watchtower." She reached to her ear and said, "Wonder Woman to Watchtower. Evacuation complete. Request transport for myself and Superman to the Watchtower."

'Stand by,' came J'onn's voice. She could tell immediately that something was wrong by the strain in the Martian's voice. She looked to Superman, who had listened in with his hearing and he reached to his own ear.

"J'onn," he said after activating his communicator, "what's going on?"

Diana turned and looked to the island, now totally engulfed in red-hot lava, and realized that she hadn't seen or felt the explosion of a nuclear missile. She turned back to look at Clark and asked out loud, "J'onn…what happened to the missile?"

Superman raised his eyebrows in question and she explained. "Someone fired a nuclear missile, topped with a Kryptonite warhead, at the island."

Dark rage clouded the eyes of the Man of Steel. "J'onn. What's the status of the missile?"

Silent seconds ticked by until J'onn finally responded, and when he did his voice was heavy with sorrow. 'The missile couldn't be destroyed from the Watchtower, and Captain Atom was too far away to assist. A Javelin…was dispatched…to intercept and destroy it.' There was another silent moment. 'The interception was successful.'

"Good work, J'onn," commended Superman.

Diana agreed, but when she looked around at the assembled aircraft, she couldn't see a Javelin anywhere. A quick scan of the surrounding skies showed the same. "Did the Javelin return to the Watchtower, J'onn?"

There was yet another pause. 'No.'

"J'onn," said Diana warningly.

She heard a sigh over the comm. unit. 'Batman took the Javelin…"

The second she heard his name, she knew. "Bruce," she whispered nervously as her hand dropped from her ear and she looked once again towards the island. A sickly feeling crept slowly into her stomach.

'Yes,' confirmed J'onn solemnly. 'He attached the Javelin to the missile and directed it away from the island, and drove it into the ocean where it exploded. But…'

"But what?" demanded Diana after J'onn didn't go on. "J'onn!"

'Telemetry says that the cockpit ejected from the Javelin before the explosion, but…I have been unable to establish contact with it or Batman.'

She was airborne in an instant, leaving a stunned Superman on the ground to process all the new information on his own. "Give me his last confirmed location," she told J'onn, and a second later she was headed in that direction.

There was nothing to be seen where J'onn told her to go. The water was calm and clear blue, but there was no wreckage or any other sign of the cockpit. She had J'onn verify that she was in the correct area, and when he did she looked down towards the ocean and made the decision instantly, without fear or pause for thought. She took a deep breath and dove into the water. She looked to her left and to her right, turning around several times before a glint of light caught her eye fifty feet from her location on a shallow section of the seabed. She swam over, ignoring her body's cry for fresh oxygen, and grabbed the edge of the cockpit. When she had a firm grip on the craft, she pushed off the ocean floor with her feet and reached the surface quickly, taking a deep gulp of fresh air as she surfaced. She saw Superman approaching in the distance and turned her attention back to the pod.

"Bruce!" she tried. "Bruce, can you hear me?"

She got no response from inside, and the sick feeling that had invaded her stomach when she first heard J'onn mutter Bruce's name intensified tenfold…a hundredfold. She climbed up onto the cockpit and tried to look inside through the cockpit shield, but she couldn't see anything through the special composite used to make the canopy.

Superman landed beside her just as she grabbed the bottom right edge of the canopy, and when his powerful fingers joined hers, they both lifted upward, and when the canopy finally gave way to their combined strength, they were met with a gush of water…from inside the canopy.

Realization dawned on her quickly, and her right hand shot up to cover her mouth as she muttered in disbelief, "No."

Superman threw the canopy to his left, into the ocean, and Diana looked on in sheer horror at Batman, still strapped into the cockpit seat with his head lowered, and still immersed up to his waist in the water that had flooded the cockpit.

She shook herself out of it and stepped into the cockpit, gently lifting Batman's head up with her right hand to look into the white eyes of the cowl. Something clogged her throat when she noticed the bluish tinge to his lips, and tears filled her eyes when salt water poured from his mouth when she lifted his head up so far.

Her breathing faltered, and the only way she could take air into her lungs was with short gasps, mixed with moans of his name and sobs that came from her heart. She clutched futilely at his uniform, begging with those actions for him to awaken.

But he would not.

She felt the massive hands of Superman gently pull her away from the lifeless body of Bruce, and the churning in her stomach forced her to turn away from the sight of the man she had come to love, and embrace the bare chest of her friend in disconsolate comfort.

And she cried, and she tried to breathe…

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Diana jumped up from the chair and fell against the closest wall, the blanket she had covered herself with falling to the floor and pooling at her feet. Her breaths were coming in shallow gulps, and the image of Bruce, belted into a water filled Javelin cockpit stayed in her mind's eye despite her efforts to wipe it away.

It took ten minutes for her to realize that it had been another of her nightmares, though her mind did realize that this particular nightmare had been a new one.

Finally trusting herself to move, Diana reached down with shaking hands and picked up the discarded blanket, placed it on the chair and walked unsteadily to the bed. She collapsed down onto what had become her side of the bed and hugged her face into her pillow, trying to muffle the sobs that she felt coming up her throat. When they came, they came hard, and she wasn't sure if the mournful sounds had been silenced enough to avoid Alfred's detection.

She no longer cared at this point.

All she cared about was having Bruce hold her close to him so that she could be certain that he was all right. She lifted her head enough to see that it was 3:00 AM. Her face fell back onto the pillow and she prayed to the gods that he would return to her soon, safe and sound.

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Morpheus withdrew his hand from his dream pool and nearly wept at the distress he caused the beautiful creature displayed in the now calm waters of the pool.

He braced himself by placing his hands on the sides of the basin. "Forgive me, Diana," he begged her image sincerely. "Forgive me."


	4. 4:00 AM

1. I still do not own Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman or anything associated with them or the Justice League.

2. I'd once again like to thank Alittlesummerwine for the beta. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the time and effort you put into helping me with this.

3. Any feedback, be it positive, negative or indifferent, would be most appreciated. Come on, would it kill you to leave a little something?

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Diana could feel herself falling asleep again. Her eyelids were getting heavier and heavier with each and every tick of the clock on the mahogany nightstand. It had only been forty-five minutes since she awoke from that gut wrenching nightmare in which Bruce drowned after saving them all from a nuclear missile strike.

She still partially blamed herself for the injuries he suffered that day, ending up in the Watchtower infirmary, extremely bitter about Cadmus and Doomsday's banishment to the Phantom Zone.

She realized as soon as she was told what had happened that she should have been there for him in his moment of need, to help him and save him. Clark certainly could have used her help, and even though the logical side of her brain told her that he would not have died or even been injured in the lava flow, she had still been preoccupied with his safety, knowing that something was wrong. Bruce, on the other hand, most certainly could have sustained fatal injuries from his heroic actions, and as it was, the injuries he did receive were extensive enough to keep him in the infirmary overnight, leaving Gotham in the capable hands of others.

He had brushed off all her subsequent attempts at apologizing for not being there with him, saying that there was no way she could have known what was going on with the spotty communications and the utter chaos going on around them. She had done what she had to do; what she should have done, and as far as he was concerned, that was that.

It was so much more than that for her…it made her love him more.

She realized her eyes were closed and she opened them quickly, blinking rapidly several times to try to wake herself up. The bright light from the lamps on either side of the bed did nothing to help her to stay awake, though her hope had been that they would do just that…keep her awake.

Diana chided herself for being so weak that something as simple as a dream could affect her so profoundly. Never before had mere nightmares, or any other dreams for that matter, touched her heart and soul so deeply. Never before had dreams so influenced her thoughts. Usually when she was able to remember her dreams, she thought about them because they held some sort of obvious significance, and then moved on, pushing them out of her head and moving on. Now, the dreams stayed with her, and she couldn't help but think about them constantly.

Diana took a deep breath and stretched out on Bruce's bed, willing to try anything to stay awake. After she had sufficiently calmed herself after the last nightmare, she had taken off her white robe, putting it back in its usual resting place at the foot of the bed, lying down on her back and gazing at the brightly lit ceiling. She had pulled just the sheet up over her, the edge of which rested on her belly. She wasn't as cold as she had been after the second nightmare, but she still wasn't as warm as she usually felt in his bed. She was tempted to get up and go to the cave, perhaps have a short work out in the training room down there, or simply sit by the Bat-computer and wait for Bruce.

But it was out of the question. He would know immediately that something was troubling her, if he did not know already. He was observant and intuitive at the best of times, but she had come to learn that when it came to something or someone that really interested him, and herself in particular, he was even more diligent in those skills.

She couldn't help but smile as that thought warmed her heart. It was not as miraculous a thing as Flash liked to believe. Few understood that underneath the body armor and the Bat symbol, Bruce had a very warm and loving heart. He had shown it many times before she had fallen for him, in his own subtle way of course, and now he displayed it on a regular basis…to her at least. And in the grand scheme of things, that was all she cared about. Selfish, yes, but it was part of his charm, and part of the reason she had fallen in love with him. He didn't show it often, but when he did allow his feelings to rise to the surface, he did it with all the feeling and passion that he possessed, and it was truly a blessing to be a part of.

Diana closed her eyes, her fears of falling asleep and having another nightmare shunted aside by the tender feelings that the pleasant thoughts of Bruce brought forth within her.

Bruce's name was the last conscious thought she had before once again succumbing to the need for sleep…

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Darkseid had come, with hundreds of attack ships and hordes of Parademons ready to do his bidding and destroy the Earth.

And the day **had** been going so well. Many of the Justice League, including Clark, Bruce and herself, was in the Metrotower going over operations, protocols and the like. During a lull that she had no idea was about to be shattered by the arrival of Darkseid, she was cornered by Bruce in a corner of the main operations room, away from everyone else. He seemed uncertain, for some reason, and by the ever so slight downward tilt of his head she knew that he wasn't looking directly at her.

"Are you busy tonight?" he asked brusquely, though hushed.

She bit her bottom lip to hold in the smile that simply wanted to erupt onto her lips. The fact that he spoke so softly and so roughly, along with the suddenness with which his head moved up as he waited for her response, indicated to her just how nervous Bruce really was.

And Hera help her she was enjoying it.

Unable to trust herself not to burst out laughing if she tried to speak, Diana simply shook her head in a negative response.

The white eyes now looking at her so intently narrowed, and he took a small step towards her. They were very close now, so close that her amusement at the situation, at his apparent anxiety, was turning into something more…biological…in nature. Her body was telling her it wanted to do things with this man, and only him, things that she had never done before and only very seldom ever thought about for that matter.

He took a quick glance around them, making sure that no one had entered their space, or came close enough to intrude on their moment. Satisfied that the other heroes and League technicians were sufficiently occupied with other things, he leaned towards her and whispered, "There's a charity banquet tonight in Gotham for the largest orphanage in town." Another quick scan of the room. "I know it's short notice, but I was wondering…if you weren't busy…" He stopped, and looked at her attentively as though he had asked the question and was waiting for her answer.

Smiling her most charming smile, she replied as quietly as he had, "I'd love to be your date." Still, she couldn't resist a little fun. Her smile dropped quickly into a frown and her voice was full of concern as she asked hurriedly, "That is what you were asking, wasn't it?"

"Yes!" he answered far too quickly for his own liking, and once again he quickly looked around to see if anyone heard anything and if anyone's attention had shifted to them. When his gaze rested upon her again, it was the familiar business like look that he normally gave to people. "Yes, that is what I was asking," he said in his usual gravelly Batman voice. "If you could be at the Manor at 6:00?" She nodded and he seemed to relax a little. "Thank you." He turned away, hesitating with very uncharacteristic uncertainty, and walked away from her in a manner that suggested, to her at least, that he wasn't exactly sure where he was going.

Diana let the smile return to her lips as she watched him walk away. Despite her relatively calm outward appearance, her heart and soul were aglow with the fireworks that had been ignited by the prospect of an actual date with Bruce. She wasn't sure what brought on this bout of boldness from Bruce, but she didn't much care either. Bruce had asked her out, sort of, and that was what mattered.

She was about to go and tell Clark the news when a civilian League technician ran through the doors of the ops center and headed straight for Superman.

"Superman!" the technician yelled as he came to stop near her friend. "You better get outside quick!"

Superman took off immediately out the door, followed in rapid succession by Captain Atom and the Red Tornado. The other Leaguers present joined the rush, Bruce and herself included, and when they all arrived outside the main entrance to the Metrotower, the sight before her instantly put her on edge. Standing before them, bold as brass, was Lex Luthor and some of the Leagues archenemies.

All were silent until Luthor said, "We have a little problem."

Luthor explained about Darkseid's imminent arrival and then followed Superman inside the Metrotower. Diana stood off to Luthor's left as they walked, ready to take him out at the first sign of trickery. Superman was right to be dubious of Luthor, in her opinion, and by the stance of and looks from the others, she wasn't alone. When everyone stopped walking she moved to stand with her teammates, near Bruce and Clark, but within striking distance of Luthor.

Luthor and Clark started taking verbal potshots at each other, only to have it broken up by Giganta, of all people.

"Enough of the crazy talk, Lex," she said in her soft voice as she walked to stand between Luthor and Superman. "Darkseid said he was coming to Earth to destroy it. You guys are supposed to keep that from happening."

"We'll do just that, lady," responded John Stewart. "Thanks for the heads up."

"And what about us?" asked Atomic Skull.

_"What about you?"_ said Diana to herself with more than a little annoyance. To Atomic Skull she said, "You're all going into holding cells."

Atomic Skull was less than impressed. His fists became engulfed in his trademark green flames, and she shifted into a defensive posture as he said defiantly, "You think so? Ain't no way we're giving up without a…"

'Watchtower to Metrotower,' interrupted Mr. Terrific's image on the main view screen. 'We got a situation.'

She moved to stand behind Superman, trusting him to ask the obvious question.

"What's going on up there?"

'Multiple hyper-spatial incursions,' reported Mr. Terrific, 'but they're planet side. I'm sending telemetry.'

Bruce needed only the most cursory of glances at the information to know what it was. "Boom tubes."

"He's right," confirmed Superman. "Can you hear it? Like thunder."

Diana didn't have to strain to hear it at all. Superman was right, it was like listening to thunder roll across the sky…lots and lots of thunder. She watched the monitors show identical scenes of Darkseid's forces arriving in the various cities of the Earth. Tokyo, Paris, Washington…all being invaded.

They were in for a fight.

She heard Shayera's order to Mr. Terrific to begin transporting Leaguers to Earth, and the usual anticipation of battle began thumping louder and louder in her veins.

"Okay, let's get these people locked up," ordered Superman as he began herding Bizarro in the direction of the holding cells. "Sounds like we got a fight on our hands."

This time it was Giganta that argued, and Diana had to resist the urge to walk up to her and sock her one.

"If you think you're locking us up while the whole world's under attack," she said, boldly standing in Superman's way, "you got two fights on your hands."

As the two sides squared off against each other, Bruce walked in between them saying, "She's got a point. We'll need all the bodies we can throw at this."

"Oh come on, it's Lex flippin' Luthor! Why should we trust him?" questioned Superman rather emphatically.

"Hey, it's our world too!" chimed in Atomic Skull.

"Let's be clear about this," said Luthor as he walked to face Superman. "We're not here to help you save the world. You're here to help me get revenge on Darkseid. When this is over, it's back to business as usual."

Clark leaned in closer to Lex. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

"You get all that?" asked Diana to Mr. Terrific.

'Yeah. You guys sure about this?' She didn't have to be a speech pattern or inflection analyst to hear the disbelief in his voice.

"Trust, but verify. Put the bad guys on teams with regular leaguers." She turned and ran up the steps to the teleporter platform and waited for the dematerialization process to begin. She looked down as the light began to envelope her, past those waiting next in line, in time to see Bruce run towards the platform himself. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but she imagined he was asking for Mr. Terrific to send him into the heart of danger…where Darkseid was, in other words. He wouldn't have it any other way.

She rematerialized with Star Sapphire, Vigilante and Shining Knight in the dark skies over the Great Wall of China and immediately flew into the fray. Her first target, an assault ship, was easily dispatched by flying through it, but there were plenty more where that one came from. Dozens of Parademons met their maker at her hands, and she fought with fury in her blood, taking time to let it simmer down only when J'onn appeared after pulverizing a few Parademons himself.

Together, the five of them met the enemy and inflicted the type of damage that would make anyone think twice about coming back and trying to conquer the Earth again. She even had to give credit to Star Sapphire for all the help that she was giving them in defeating these creatures. Too bad she was usually on the wrong side.

When the fight finally ended with the withdrawal of the Parademons, Diana, along with the others, was transported back to the Metrotower. There were smiles all around, with congratulatory hugs shared between Leaguers and Luthor's people alike. The mood was decidedly celebratory, as it should have been after such a great victory.

That is, the mood was celebratory until Superman appeared. Those who knew him best, J'onn, John, Shayera, Wally and herself, immediately noticed that all was not well with Superman. He looked like they lost the fight, or lost someone.

Diana looked around him, and then looked him straight in his bright blue eyes, and ignoring the tightening vise around her heart, she asked the question she both had and feared to ask. "Where's Batman?"

To his credit, Superman met her intense gaze head on, and when he spoke, respect and tribute laced his voice. "Batman," he said in a way that she understood to be meant as Bruce, "attacked Darkseid after he knocked me down. I was woozy, but I could see Batman pole vault into Darkseid's back, giving me time to recuperate." Superman hesitated, apparently unsure whether or not to continue, but after a moment a kind of resolve flashed in his eyes, as though he realized that the story had to be told. "Darkseid turned on him, and shot his Omega beam at Batman." Superman stepped forward and placed his hands on Diana's shoulders. "The beam hit Batman in the chest as he was trying to avoid it."

Through the unshed tears that had instantly materialized in her eyes, Diana could see the same thing happening to the eyes of her friend as he added quietly, "I'm sorry, Diana. He's gone."

Diana felt herself being pulled into his strong embrace, and as the tears finally left the confines of her eyes and traveled down her cheeks, she tried to envision for a second what her life would be like without Bruce in it, but it hurt too much to think about…

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At 4:07 AM, Diana woke up from the nightmare that her subconscious created out of Darkseid's defeat without shedding a single tear or uttering a whimper or sob.

She had no more tears left; no more sobs; no more cries of stress or pain, just the ache in her heart caused by a loss that she had not yet endured in reality.

The thought of Bruce getting hit by Darkseid's Omega beams was frightening, a feeling with which she seldom had any association, and it was disconcerting to say the least. She sat up and pulled her feet along the bed towards her, hugging her knees to her chest and resting her chin upon her knees. Her long, silky hair fell to rest along both sides of her face, almost in an attempt to hide her from the world at large, or at the very least to hide her from her nightmares.

Clark had told her how Bruce had so adeptly avoided those beams in reality during their fight with Darkseid in the Daily Planet. Clark had been beyond impressed, though hardly surprised, by Bruce's incredible agility, but to garner even a modicum of respect from Darkseid was extraordinary.

Diana took a deep breath, let it out with a shudder, and not for the first time that night, she wondered if she should go to the cave and check on his status, or work out, or do something other than try to sleep. For the briefest of moments, she even entertained the idea of waking Alfred and asking him if there was anything in the Batcave's infirmary that she could take to help her sleep. It was stocked as well as most hospitals, after all. Downing a pot of strong, hot coffee to stay awake was also an option.

But she discounted those possible courses of action after a moment of thought. She trusted Bruce to be okay; trusted his numerous abilities and decades of experience…his tremendous force of will.

_"He'll be home soon,"_ she thought as a sense of anticipatory warmth spread throughout her body. Diana lowered her slender legs back to the bed and gently fell back so that her head rested in the center of her pillow, and as a smile hesitantly spread across her lips, her heart and mind acted in unison by issuing a silent plea for him to hurry.


	5. 5:00 AM

1. I still do not own Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman or anything associated with them or the Justice League.

2. I'd once again like to thank Alittlesummerwine for the beta. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the time and effort you put into helping me with this. Thank you so much.

3. Any feedback, be it positive, negative or indifferent, would be most appreciated. **Seriously…it only takes thirty seconds to tell me if you like it or it sucks:)**

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Morpheus paced back and forth about his domain, for once totally oblivious to the tranquility he so meticulously maintained about him, a tranquility that he used to inspire the calm and peaceful dreams he usually handed out to those who were worthy, those like Diana. He himself was far from tranquil however. The torment, the torture that he was putting Diana through was having a damaging effect on her, and that in turn made him feel even worse about having become Ares' attack dog.

Yet, despite it all, she still had not broken. She had wavered, he could tell; she had thought about her relationship with the Batman, how it had progressed and strengthened, yet not even for an instant had she questioned the advisability of being with the mortal; she had not considered at all the possibility of ending their relationship. All he had managed to accomplish so far was to make her yearn for his company more and more.

Ares would not be pleased, to put it mildly, and Morpheus felt a certain sense of satisfaction from that.

An all too familiar blast of heat and flame erupted near his dream pool, and Morpheus turned to see Ares, dressed in his usual silver and gold colored armor, daring to look into the calm waters of the pool. Morpheus always had to resist the impulse to check and see if his long white beard had been singed whenever Ares appeared or disappeared like that.

"Tell me, Morpheus," said Ares as he leaned in to look at Diana's image in the water, "do you find her attractive?"

Morpheus narrowed his eyes at the question. "She is beautiful, Ares, on the outside and within."

"Ah," commented the god of war, "inside and out. Yes, I suppose she is." Ares drew his right index finger deliberately through the water, causing the image of Diana to distort from the waves his actions caused. "And she is strong, yes?"

The right side of Morpheus' mouth twitched upward and he couldn't resist annoying Ares a little. "Yes, Ares…she is very strong. We have seen it time and again."

Ares turned towards Morpheus and smiled innocently. "We have indeed." A look of sudden realization that Morpheus knew was an act crossed the face of Ares. "You admire her? You do not wish to punish her for her misdeeds?"

Morpheus snorted so loudly that even Hades must have heard it in the underworld. "Misdeeds?" asked Morpheus incredulously. "From what I have been told by others, the misdeeds were not hers, Ares."

Ares actually smirked. "Hermes has a loose mouth."

"Be that as it may, Ares," responded Morpheus, "my…recruitment in your vendetta was the worse kind of deception."

"Be that as it may," parroted Ares, "your oath is still in force." Ares stepped towards Morpheus threateningly. "And you must do everything you can to fulfill it." A toothy and utterly evil smile appeared on Ares' handsome face. "And you are an honorable god, Morpheus. I know that no matter how much you might hate me, you will still abide by your word."

Morpheus' face hardened into something slightly vicious. "I will, Ares, but be warned, while I take the vow I made with you very seriously, so too do I take seriously the conniving way in which you tricked me into being your partner in this nefarious endeavor." He stepped closer to Ares. "Mark my words well, god of war…I do not take kindly to being deceived."

Ares smiled wickedly at his fellow deity. "And I do not kindly to threats, Morpheus. Remember that…and your oath."

With that Ares grabbed his purple cloak around him with his right hand and disappeared in his trademark ball of flames, sending Morpheus' white robe and shoulder length white hair billowing from the breeze and leaving him to once again stew privately in his own thoughts.

And foremost on his mind was the thought of the next dream he had in mind for Diana, as it was the only way to rid himself of Ares. The next dream would be the one, he knew. It was to be the back breaker, so to speak. It would cause the Amazon champion to doubt Batman's place in her life, and her place in his.

Morpheus walked to stand next to the pool. He looked into the water and saw that Diana had fallen asleep. He hesitantly reached for the pool, closing his eyes in shame and regret as his hand touched the water and reached once more into her dreams…

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Another dimension. She had never considered the possibility, never dreamt of another Diana out there in the cosmos with the same powers and abilities as she.

She never once imagined another Diana of Themyscira out there, somewhere, as a Justice Lord.

The Justice League returned to their own dimension after the Justice Lord Batman realized the error of the Lords' ways, with the help of the League Batman. A trap had been set to lure the Lords into captivity by faking Luthor's escape from prison.

The Lords, her doppelganger included, had broken into Luthor's cell easily enough and when the Luthor inside morphed into his true form, that of her friend J'onn, the trap was sprung. It was the same sort of electrical trap that the Lords had used on them. It had worked well until the Justice Lord Hawkgirl used her mace to beat down one side of their little trap and escape. Green Lantern hesitated in subduing her, and that hesitation cost them all.

The Lords managed to escape the trap and then the battle between the Justice League and the Justice Lords began in earnest.

Diana waited and watched as Lantern shot multiple green tracers at the now airborne Lord Hawkgirl until he finally hit her, sending her crashing to the floor of the lower section of the prison.

J'onn rushed to her, his concern for her well being as evident as his need to ensure that she was well and truly out of the fight.

The next of the Lords to exit the ruined trap was the Lord J'onn, who shape shifted into a large, four-armed dragon like concoction. He flew straight at his League counterpart, who also morphed into the same type of creature, the only difference being that her J'onn had only two arms instead of four. They went at each other, throwing punch after punch and twirling around each other as they both rose to the ceiling, crashing through it without any hesitation at all, sending dozens of pieces of concrete falling downward.

Diana's attention fell to Bruce on the main floor, watching as he had to dive and roll in order to avoid the falling debris caused by the disastrous exit of the two Martians.

She let her right hand fall to her hip and she gently took her lasso in her grip, waiting for her counterpart to show her face. She would have to wait though. Lantern moved to the still smoking hole that had once been a prison cell and trap, moving quickly to point his ring at the hole waiting for the next Lord to arrive. Instead, a familiar green energy beam came from within the cell to catch the League Green Lantern in the chest, sending him sprawling backwards through the air until he slammed back first into a concrete ledge.

Diana watched as the Lord GL used a rising plume of smoke to mask his next attack, and for a moment she thought about intervening, but the plan was simple: pick an opponent and stick with them while Superman and Luthor retrieved the power disruptor.

Diana was relieved when the League GL parried his counterpart's assault, then felt the burning sting of rage in her blood as the Lord Wonder Woman appeared in the doorway. Complete and total fury over the fact that this person was in fact another version of herself, but that this Wonder Woman had thrown away the mantle of peace and true justice and used her god blessed powers to instead work in evil and nefarious ways.

She twirled her lasso once and let it fly at her target, smiling in satisfaction as the golden rope wrapped itself around her waist. Diana pulled on the lasso with all her strength, sending her counterpart into the air with a yelp of surprise.

The surprise didn't last long however. The Lord Wonder Woman grabbed the lasso with both of her powerful hands as she swung through the air and pulled on it hard, pulling Diana towards the Lord. Diana could do nothing as she sped towards her counterpart except hang on tight, even though she knew what had to be coming. At least, she knew what she'd do if their roles were reversed.

Sure enough, her thoughts were confirmed a moment later when she reached the Lords' position and received a boot that could have been her very own to the right side of her face, making her release her lasso and sending her sprawling back towards the floor.

She recovered just as she felt a hand on the top of her head, and she turned to face her enemy, an enemy whose face was identical to her own. And her tactics were identical as well, as the Lord Wonder Woman was priming to do exactly what she would do if their positions were reversed: preparing to strike.

She beat her counterpart to the punch…literally. Her left fist connected with the shorthaired Wonder Woman's jaw followed in rapid succession by her right, sending the woman flying backwards. Not wanting to let up the tiniest bit on the Justice Lord, Diana followed her in mid air, taking punches, blocking blows and throwing many of her own.

Diana reared back with her right fist and let all of her strength, all of her anger at this Wonder Woman, and all the fear she felt at the thought of what would happen if they didn't beat these Justice Lords, fly through the air to impact against the cheek that for all intents and purposes could have been her own.

The blow staggered the Lord, but only for a second, and then Diana suddenly felt the breath whoosh from her lungs as the Lord Wonder Woman's fists drove into her midsection at an insane velocity, and continued to push into her stomach, pushing her downwards into a collision course with the steel reinforced concrete floor. Down the two Wonder Women flew, locked in their own mortal combat, until Diana's back crashed into the floor.

What little breath Diana had left within her vanished, pushed out of her mouth by the force of the sudden deceleration caused by the impact of her back against the floor and the Lord Wonder Woman's fists still implanted in her abdomen. Diana felt the wooziness attempt to over take her, forcing her to summon what strength she had left to fight it off. She sensed, more than actually saw, the Lord Wonder Woman step back, and Diana tried with all her might to regain control over her breathing, tried with every ounce of power to draw badly needed oxygen into her lungs. She managed to open her eyes and take a breath, just in time to see Batman, her Batman of course, attempt to surprise the Justice Lord Wonder Woman by leaping at her from behind.

He was silent and precise…and unsuccessful. Just as he was about to attack her, the Lord Wonder Woman spun around and grabbed Batman by the throat in what Diana knew had to be an iron hard grip with her left hand. She gathered her strength and tried to move as her counterpart effortlessly threw Batman aside as though he were a bag of litter. The evidence of his distress, his grunts and groans as he hit the floor and rolled, reached Diana's ears and spurred her to try harder to stand, but to no avail. No matter the urgency with which the commands left her brain, her limbs simply could not respond.

All she could do was watch…watch helplessly as the body-suited Diana eyed something on the floor next to where she lay. Then the Justice Lord reached down and easily picked up a sizable chunk of concrete debris, as though it were a piece of cardboard, and held it over her head.

Diana tried with a desperation she had never before felt within her to get to her feet, to help Bruce, to stop her counterpart from killing her friend, her teammate, the man she felt something more than friendship for, but she still could not move.

The short haired Diana, the Wonder Woman of the Justice Lords, walked up to Batman, who, still shaken from the rough way he had been thrown across the room, was still laying on his back.

Diana finally got to her knees, but still had to bend over and use her hands to keep from crashing face first onto the floor. Her head turned up and her heart spasmed within the confines of her chest.

"No," Diana barely managed to mutter when Diana of the Justice Lords looked to her, and without any emotion on her face at all, no regret, no satisfaction, nothing, she turned back to face her prey and without comment or ceremony, slammed the piece of concrete down onto the upper body of Batman.

Diana's vision went red, covered not by his blood or any other physical entity, but by the unadulterated rage that instantly filled every fiber of her being. And with that rage came a strength and power that Diana herself was unaware that she even possessed.

But possess it she did…and harness it she did. She sprang up from the hole in which she had been laying, flying straight, fast and true to her target, the Justice Lord Diana, and planted her fists squarely in the other woman's back, pushing her counterpart along until the other woman's face brutally impacted the nearest wall. Diana, still feeding off the energy her rage had become, grabbed the other Diana's short hair with her right hand, pulled her back from the wall six inches, then slammed her face forward again, and again, and again, until the Lord Diana stopped struggling. It was then that Diana turned the Lord around, and with bared teeth and tears in her eyes, punched what could have been her twin sister in the face with her right hand, then her left, then her right, and her left, and her right…

Diana was still punching when she woke up, though her target was not her Justice Lord counterpart, nor the killer of Bruce Wayne, but instead a pillow that had the misfortune of being within her grasp.

Her first instinct was, for reasons that eluded her, to check the clock, which read 5:05 AM. Her eyes fells back to the obliterated pillow, and for what seemed to be an eternity, Diana struggled to remember exactly why it was that she was destroying one of Bruce's favorite pillows, but then it came back to her in a kaleidoscope of images; images of her and Bruce; images of someone who looked like her but wasn't her; images of that someone and what she had done in her dream.

Diana suddenly felt sick, so sick that she bolted as fast as her meta human legs could move to the bathroom, which happened to be just fast enough to avoid throwing up on the floor.

_"I killed him,"_ she said in her mind over and over again as she sat on the tiled floor emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet. The rational and usually predominant side of her brain told her that she did no such thing; that it was another dream, albeit a very potent one, though for this particular occasion, that logical side of her was anything but predominant. The raw negative emotions, fear, guilt and grief that were running wild within her body had complete and unfettered access to her heart, soul and mind, and with that power came the false knowledge that she had killed the man she loved.

Finally finished revisiting Alfred's magnificent dinner, still repeating in her mind that she killed Bruce, she stood up and supported herself by placing her hands on the counter next to the sink.

"I killed him," she whispered softly as she slowly shook her head. For reasons that were beyond her ability to comprehend in her fragile state, she was beginning to believe that she had in fact, killed Bruce, that is until she looked up into the mirror and noticed something that gave the logical side of her mind something to grasp a hold of, something with which it could help to ground her in reality…her long, black wavy hair.

It was a small enough fact to slip past her in most moments, and it should have this time as well, especially with the other more easily obtainable facts around her to dispute the claim that she killed Bruce, but her eyes focused on her long hair.

The Wonder Woman that killed Bruce in her dream had short hair...straight, short hair. Tentatively, her right hand left the counter and made its way up to touch her hair. When she finally felt the satiny touch of her hair, she twirled a long lock of it between her fingers, and a half smile slowly came to her lips.

Then her eyes opened wide in realization, and as quickly as she could she walked out into Bruce's bedroom to find her uniform, and when she did find it exactly where she left it on Bruce's dresser, she laughed and held her hand to her mouth to ward off the cry of delight that she wanted to unleash. There, on the dresser, was her Wonder Woman uniform, including her tiara. The Wonder Woman that killed Bruce in her dream wore a red bodysuit, but most importantly didn't wear that tiara, the tiara that symbolized who she was, where she came from, what she stood for, and, most importantly, was a constant reminder of why Bruce still called her 'Princess'. She, Diana, did wear it, but the Justice Lord Wonder Woman did not.

Diana let the fingertips of her right hand graze the tiara, gently, as though touching it too hard or irreverently would make it disappear, and with it any real chance that she hadn't killed Bruce.

By the time Diana's index finger ran across the apex of the tiara for the third time, her heart had slowed to its usual steady drumbeat and a feeling of relief began to fill her chest. That sensation, that wonderful feeling filled her to the brim and overwhelmed one of the strongest women on the planet to the point where her legs, weary along with the rest of her, buckled, sending her crashing to the floor. Diana, still unable to find it within herself to cry, could only lean her back against the dresser with her legs outstretched in front of her on the floor, and gaze out the window into the twilight, and hope that the night would soon end…preferably with her in the arms of the one person she needed to see with her own eyes, and feel with her own hands.


	6. Alfred's Intervention

1. I still do not own Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman or anything associated with them or the Justice League.

2. I'd once again like to thank Alittlesummerwine for the beta. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the time and effort you put into helping me with this. Your patience ranks among the legendary.

3. Any feedback, be it positive, negative or indifferent, would be most appreciated. **Seriously…it only takes thirty seconds to tell me if you like it or it sucks:)**

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Twenty minutes later, Diana was still sitting on the floor of the master bedroom of Wayne manor, with her hands folded neatly upon her lap, contemplating the twinkling stars and asking herself why she was being so tormented by her nightmares.

She had no answer for that question. She had never been prone to nightmares, especially such detailed and vivid ones as she had been experiencing during this particular night. These nightmares were touching her soul in the most painful way.

"Oh, Bruce," she muttered softly into the empty room. Her brief contemplation of the stars had been inundated with thoughts of Bruce and where he fit in her life and vice versa.

She even took a moment to marvel at how twenty minutes could seem like an hour when she was waiting for something special or important.

Waiting for Bruce to come home to be with her, for example.

Each of her dreams dealt with an inevitability: Bruce's death. No matter the manner of his death in the dreams, Bruce died, and she felt it. She felt the sorrow, the grief, the pain, the emptiness, and thanks to that last dream, she felt the guilt. It was overwhelming and nearly unbearable…yet it wasn't even real.

So, what would happen when Bruce did die? And he would die, all mortals did, and despite his propensity for displaying meta human abilities and strength of will, he was still mortal.

How would she feel when it happened? When they all thought that Superman had died that day they battled the Toyman in Metropolis, she took his 'death' harder than most, with the obvious exception of Lois and the possible exception of Bruce, though he would never admit it to anyone much less show it.

And he was just her friend, a teammate; and while that was special for her, it paled in comparison to what Bruce had come to mean to her in the last few years. He had originally been a friend and teammate, a relationship which had grown into affection and a physical and spiritual attraction. That in turn had grown into love, the kind of love that others spoke of but no one truly believed that they would be able to discover in their own lives. It was the kind of love that ancient Greeks used to write epic sagas about.

Bruce's death would create a void in her life that would never, could never, be filled again; that much she was certain of. She would lose a very important piece of herself, of her heart, and she would never be whole again.

It was almost amusing that something as special as love could cause such pain.

Almost.

Diana sighed aloud and began to rise from the floor when three soft knocks on the door startled her, causing her to jump the rest of the way to her full height and take a sharp intake of breath, her heart pounding from the surprise.

Her senses came to full alert, with her mind running through every scenario she could think of about the possible identity of the person on the other side of the door. It took exactly two seconds for her to smile and realization to filter through.

It had to be Alfred.

Another trio of quiet knocks brought Diana back to reality and she took three steps towards the door when a breeze across her legs reminded her that she was only wearing a nightgown. She retreated quickly to the bed and retrieved her robe, pulling it on as she moved once again towards the door. She finished tying the belt around her waist as quickly as she could, and then opened the door.

"Good morning, Miss Diana," greeted Alfred Pennyworth. Diana often marveled at the absurdity of Alfred's surname…he was worth so much more to Bruce, and her for that matter, than a penny.

"Good morning, Alfred," responded Diana politely. It was then that she took stock of the butler extraordinaire standing before her. Alfred was dressed in light blue pajamas, flannel by the look of them, covered very conservatively by a knee length navy blue robe, which was tied securely about the waist by a blue belt. Even his slippers were dark blue. What really caught Diana's attention however, had nothing to do with Alfred's wardrobe, but with what he was holding in his hands.

Held safely in the hands of Bruce's butler was a silver platter, upon which sat two mugs turned upside down, two spoons individually wrapped in what appeared to be very fine linen napkins, and a rather large silver coffee pot that happened to have steam escaping from its spout. A discreet sniff told Diana that the decanter didn't have coffee inside, but another hot liquid of which Alfred was a connoisseur.

Hot chocolate. The identity of the pot's contents was confirmed a second later when Diana eyes noticed a bowl filled with small white marshmallows hiding behind the pot.

Alfred was in full professional butler mode, sans the uniform of course, as he asked, "May I come in, Miss?"

Diana hesitated for a moment. She wasn't sure if she was in the proper state of mind to be in the company of someone as astute as Alfred, though knowing him he certainly already knew that something was amiss, otherwise he wouldn't be at her door at such an early hour.

Smiling as much as she could after getting so little sleep and being bombarded by nightmare after nightmare, she responded with, "Of course, Alfred."

Alfred nodded once in acknowledgement and adeptly maneuvered past her without so much as causing a jingle from the items on the tray. Without comment he walked into the room, seemingly oblivious to the mess she had made in obliterating a pillow and the disarray of the sheets on the bed, and with practiced ease, placed the silver tray on the small table that rested next to the large chair. He continued on in silence, turning the chair around to face inward towards the bed.

Diana watched as Alfred then stepped to the table, leaned over and turned over one of the large mugs, then picked up the pot and poured hot chocolate into the mug and placed one of the spoons in the mug, all without making a sound or spilling a single drop of the brown liquid.

Still bent over the table, Alfred turned to Diana and asked, "Marshmallows, Miss?"

"What?" was Diana's startled response, and after a second she realized what he was asking and added, "Yes, please."

Another nod from Alfred and he dropped a generous helping of marshmallows into the steaming hot chocolate. Alfred then stood up, appraised his work and, apparently satisfied with the arrangement, stepped back and clasped his hands behind his back and looked to Diana.

"Your hot chocolate is ready, Miss."

Diana took a step towards the table, stopped and looked to Alfred with a slightly dazed look upon her face. "Alfred, this isn't necessary."

Alfred's right eyebrow rose a quarter of an inch, telling her that he considered her statement to be slightly absurd and unnecessary. "Please, Miss…while it is still hot, just the way you like it."

Diana took a deep breath and, still unsure of her balance and physical stability, moved carefully to the chair and sat down.

Once she was settled, Alfred picked up the mug of hot chocolate and handed it to Diana, who despite her weariness still thought enough to give Alfred a grateful smile. As she brought the cup to her lips, Alfred disappeared quietly into the bathroom with a covertness that was astounding…she wouldn't even had known he left if she didn't just happen to be looking at him. He returned into the bedroom a moment later with another pillow from the linen closet in one hand and a small wastebasket in the other.

When he started picking up the remnants of the pillow she tore apart, Diana replaced her mug of hot chocolate onto the tray and started to get up, only to have Alfred's slightly annoyed voice stop her dead in her tracks.

"This is a part of my duties, Miss." He stood up straight for a moment and added in a gentle tone, "I am certain the hot chocolate will do you good, Miss."

Diana nodded, though she couldn't bring herself to smile at Alfred, and sat back down in the chair, taking the mug back into her hand and taking another sip of the beverage.

It didn't take long for Alfred to clean up the remnants of the pillow and straighten out the sheets on the bed. Alfred pulled down the sheets, in effect getting the bed ready for occupancy, then moved to stand in front of Diana, once again standing perfectly erect and clasping his hands behind his back.

"Will that be all, Miss?" he asked in his most professional sounding butler voice.

Diana looked into the elderly man's eyes. "Yes, Alfred. Thank you very much."

Alfred inclined his head in respect. "It is my pleasure to serve, Miss."

Then the strangest thing happened.

Diana watched slightly dumbfounded as Alfred moved not to the door to leave, but instead to the table, where he turned over the second mug on the tray and poured hot chocolate into it. He picked the mug up in his hands, then walked over to the bed and sat on the edge of the bed facing her. He took a sip of his hot chocolate and looked at Diana sympathetically, the first hint of any real emotion that she could see from him since he knocked on the door minutes earlier.

"Are you all right, Miss?" His voice had the tone of a concerned parent, a father whose daughter needed something though he had yet to figure out what that something was.

She looked into her mug and answered hesitantly. "I…I haven't slept well…tonight." She took a sharp breath. "I haven't…"

Alfred nodded knowingly, as though it should have been obvious to anybody what her problem was. "How many nightmares have you had tonight?"

Her eyes bolted up to Alfred's in surprise. "How did…?"

Alfred smiled, a slightly sad little smile that, added to his response, spoke volumes to Diana. "This is not my first time bringing hot chocolate to this bedroom in the wee morning hours, Miss." Alfred lifted his mug to his lips, and after swallowing another mouthful of hot chocolate he added, "Not even close, I am afraid. There have been far too many late night hot chocolate sojourns to this room over the years."

Diana let that tidbit of information sink in. When she first started sharing Bruce's bed, she had found that he did have a nightmare now and again, but she had no idea that he had been having nightmares for a while, though knowing his history and his line of work, she should have expected it. Plus, she couldn't remember the last time that Bruce had had a nightmare when he was with her.

"Before your arrival in Master Bruce's personal life, Miss, it was an all too frequent event," said Alfred as though reading her thoughts. "He hasn't needed this type of early morning intervention in a while." Alfred smiled and added softly, "I credit you for that, Miss."

What could she say? Diana was speechless.

"Master Bruce's nightmares, Miss Diana, were usually the same," commented Alfred, "or more to the point, I suppose, they all centered around the same event."

It didn't take a genius, or a detective, to figure out what that event was. The death of Bruce's parents was the defining moment of his life, and it went without saying that it was an unpleasant defining moment.

Alfred nodded when he saw the understanding in Diana's eyes. "Yes, Miss, that event. Master Bruce frequently had nightmares about that horrendous night, terrible nightmares that brought back to him all the pain and anguish of that night. In essence, he relived it whenever he had a nightmare." Alfred lowered his head sadly. "There were times when I thought that he would never recover from some of those nightmares, that perhaps they had finally taken their toll on him and destroyed what was left of his good heart, especially in his younger years." Alfred looked up and found Diana's eyes, and when he spoke it was with the proud voice of a father. "But he did not give up, Miss. He found the strength and the will to fight through them, for the memory of his parents and the mission he has embarked on. He realized that there was something out there bigger than himself. When you entered his life it gave him yet another reason to continue to fight those nightmare demons."

Diana's heart was swelling at Alfred's words, both for the strength that he described in Bruce and the way that he partially credited her, and her love for Bruce, for that strength. While that was nice to hear, however, Diana had no idea as to why Alfred was bringing this up to her now, in this fashion, at this hour of the night.

Alfred stood up and walked over to the table, gently setting his mug back on the tray, then turning to face Diana. "What I am trying to say, Miss, is that if Master Bruce can take those nightmares and shunt them aside, fight through them, find a reason to forge through them, find inspiration to ignore and perhaps even stop having them, then believe me when I say that you can as well, no matter how bad your nightmares have been."

Diana considered Alfred's words. He was right, of course. If Bruce could work through his nightmares and all the heartache they brought, so could she, couldn't she? She could take the love that Bruce gave to her, that wonderful, soul filling love, and use it to give her strength. Still…

She looked downward to her feet. "I'm not sure I'm strong enough to do that Alfred."

"You give yourself far too little credit, Miss," came Alfred's instant reply. When she looked up at him with uncertainty in her eyes he added, "I do not know the content of your nightmares, Miss, nor do I intend or wish to pry, but I believe with all of my heart that you can rise above them. Perhaps for Master Bruce's sake, if nothing else."

Diana's smile generated a warmth that filled the room. "Thank you, Alfred, for everything." She took one last gulp of her hot chocolate and placed her mug next to Alfred's.

"It is my pleasure, Miss." Alfred picked up the tray and walked surely to the door. He walked through, balanced the tray expertly on one hand and started pulling the door shut behind him with his free hand. He stopped when the door was nearly closed and looked at Diana, who was still seated in the chair. "We usually look for meanings in dreams, Miss, or take their content as omens or possible truths. Sometimes we even consider them as representations of thoughts or feelings deep within ourselves." Alfred let a small smile tug at his lips. "Most times, however, a dream is simply just a dream."

Before Diana could say anything the door clicked shut, leaving her to ponder what Alfred had said. _"Most times, however, a dream is simply just a dream." _Could it be that simple? Was she making more of these nightmares than was really there"?

She had never really considered Bruce's mortality before, at least not at any great length, and certainly not to the extent as she had during this particular evening. She had always been at peace with the idea that she would cherish whatever time they had together, that they would make the most of whatever the gods decided to bless them with. Why should tonight be any different? And when Bruce did die, she would have years worth of precious memories to help her deal with his loss, and friends and family as well, to say nothing of the knowledge that of all the relationships he had had with various women, he had ultimately chosen to be with her.

There would be a void to be sure. And it would never be filled. But then again, just because she was immortal didn't mean she could not die. It could happen. And she had seen many strange and wonderful things in her life as Wonder Woman…who was to say that Bruce could not become immortal, or at least live longer than the average mortal? She had seen enough to know that anything was possible.

She had also seen enough to know that life was too fleeting a thing, for mortals and immortal alike, to worry about what ifs and the like. She knew that it was better, much better, to live in the now and not waste time and energy on such thoughts. She had forgotten that tonight.

Diana took a deep breath, a cleansing and revitalizing breath, and stood up from the chair with a newfound confidence and inner peace. Alfred was right, as he so often was. Her dreams were just that…dreams, and she should treat them as such.

She walked to the bed, laying down on the straightened sheets and gazing at the ceiling. The gods had truly blessed her life by showing her the path to Bruce.

_"The gods!"_ realized Diana somewhat ecstatically. She could always ask for their guidance. Diana got up from the bed and walked to the center of the room, kneeled down on her right knee, and placed her right hand over her heart. She was just about to ask the gods for some direction, some assurance that her relationship with Bruce was going to be fine…not that she needed that assurance any longer. She had already decided that she would do everything within her power to ensure that their relationship would survive and flourish.

Still, a little divine guidance couldn't hurt.

She stopped and considered for a moment which god she should pray to, or if she should pray a generic plea to them all. For a minute she mulled over the options available to her, until she settled on one, on the one goddess that in hindsight she should have considered and chosen right off.

Diana closed her eyes and bowed her head reverently, then spoke with the respectful voice that her mother taught her so long ago to use when speaking to the gods.

"Mighty Aphrodite, you saw fit to grace my life with the love a man, the love of a mortal man… "

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'…and I pray to you tonight to protect and nourish the special love you gave us, the love we have built through the trials and triumphs we have faced together. I beg you to relieve the last morsel of doubt that still lingers from these nightmares about our relationship, and I ask you, my goddess, to protect my love from the dangers that our lives entail.'

Aphrodite, the goddess of love, listened intently to the short yet poignant prayer offered to her by the champion of the Amazons. The image of Diana that was displayed in the crystal she used to watch over those in which she had a special interest was clear, as was Diana's voice, and Aphrodite could easily hear the respect and hope in the Amazon's voice.

She watched for a moment longer as Diana undressed after finishing her prayer and lay down in the bed of the Batman, turning off the light and falling asleep with a very peaceful look upon her beautiful face.

Aphrodite waved her hand across the crystal, causing the image of Diana to fade away, leaving the purely magical white shine of the perfect crystal to see.

The goddess of love leaned back in her throne, made of the whitest marble and adorned with the most comfortable red cushions that anyone, god or mortal, had ever felt. Her sea blue eyes narrowed in thought and her perfect hands, the flawlessly beautiful hands of a goddess, rested on top of each other on her lap.

Her head tilted slightly to the left as she thought about what Diana had said, causing her curly golden locks to fall onto her bare left shoulder.

"Nightmares," repeated Aphrodite thoughtfully. "What is Morpheus up to?"

With that, Aphrodite stood up from her throne, her hair falling straight down around her shoulders and along her back; the hem of her long, pure white, sleeveless dress brushed the marble dais upon which her throne sat, and the light glistened magically off the thin golden tiara she wore in her hair and the golden cord that served as a belt around her waist.

"Perhaps it is time to see why Morpheus is interfering in the life and love of the champion of the Amazons." With that, Aphrodite raised her right hand above her head, flicked her wrist and disappeared in a flash of blinding white light.


	7. A Goddess' Intervention, Pt I

1. I still do not own Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman or anything associated with them or the Justice League.

2. I'd once again like to thank Alittlesummerwine for the beta. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

3. A big thanks to everyone who reviewed, and as always, any feedback, be it positive, negative or indifferent, would be most appreciated. **Seriously…it only takes thirty seconds to tell me if you like it or it sucks:)**

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Aphrodite's viewing crystal was not the only divine medium that could display to its owner Diana's prayer or her subsequent return to Bruce's bed. The dream pool of the god of dreams also displayed the scene for Morpheus. He leaned over the pool, even now stroking his snow white beard thoughtfully with his left hand as his right hand rested in its usual place upon the rim of the basin holding his pool.

The image of Diana falling asleep again in the bed of the Batman, and with as serene a look upon her beautiful face as Morpheus had ever seen on anyone in his eternity of spreading dreams throughout the mortal populace, totally bewildered him.

She should have buckled under the extreme pressure he had exerted on her through the dreams he wreaked upon her. And that last dream…she should have folded like a deck of cards! Morpheus chuckled at the thought of that saying. He had to remember to thank Hermes for telling him some of the mortals' more zesty sayings.

He put his left hand on the basin beside his right and shook his head to focus his attention away from his introspection and back to Diana. She had showed remarkable strength and fortitude in overcoming the overwhelming images of her lover dying, especially the image of him dying more or less at her own hands.

"Why will she not yield?" asked Morpheus to the room at large, slightly annoyed because the exasperation in his voice was wasted with no one there to witness it.

Or was there?

A brilliant flash of white light and a warm, gentle breeze announced another visitor to his realm. Without turning he knew the visitor was not Ares; the light was too bright, as if it came from the inside of a beautiful soul, and the calm wind that accompanied the light had an enveloping warmth to it. Not like Ares' arrivals, heralded as they were by a fiery light and harsh, hot wind.

Morpheus straightened up and turned to see who his visitor was, only to wind up looking upon beauty personified. Aphrodite stood before him, her blond hair fanning out behind her as it flowed down her back, looking much like a beautiful golden cape; her white robes fluttering slightly due to her arrival and her blue eyes focused intently on him.

Morpheus found his voice and bowed respectfully to the goddess of love. "Greetings, Aphrodite. Welcome to my realm." He looked up to Aphrodite and smiled. "To what do I owe the honor of your company, my lady?" As if he didn't know. He heard the prayer that Diana had so reverently sent to Aphrodite, and it didn't take Athena's blessing of wisdom to figure out that that was the reason she was in his sanctuary now.

Aphrodite returned Morpheus' gesture of respect, bowed her head in exactly the same fashion and then, with the loveliest smile gracing her lips, looked up to Morpheus. "Thank you for your warm welcome, Morpheus. I do hope you do not consider my unannounced visit an intrusion?"

Morpheus looked slightly scandalized by the thought. "Of course not, Aphrodite," he responded kindly. "Any visit by someone as beautiful as you to my realm, or any realm for that matter, is a most welcome thing indeed."

Aphrodite smiled and walked towards Morpheus, stopping a short distance from him, and his dream pool. Her gaze locked onto his, and she was intrigued by the brief instance of discomfort that flashed across Morpheus' visage.

"Your kind words are music to my ears, god of dreams," replied Aphrodite sweetly, "and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for each and every one of them." She stepped past Morpheus and looked into the dream pool where the image of Diana, now in a peaceful bout of deep slumber, was still showing in the calm waters within the basin. "Let me get directly to the point, Morpheus. I have come to ask why it is that a kind and gentle soul such as you would be torturing the Amazon champion so." She turned to look at Morpheus, who was now visibly uncomfortable.

"Diana?" asked Morpheus somewhat feebly. The knowing look upon the face of the goddess of love told him it was useless, futile even, to pretend that he didn't know what she was talking about. Sighing loudly, Morpheus moved to stand next to Aphrodite by the pool.

He looked into the pool at the sleeping Amazon, and then closed his eyes shamefully. "I have made an oath to punish her for her misdeeds against the gods," he said quickly, knowing what fodder it was that he was saying. He opened his eyes and turned to look at Aphrodite, who was looking at him not with judgment or malice in her eyes, but with something like understanding or maybe sympathy. "At least, that's what I thought I was doing, in the beginning." Unable to bear the kindness in the eyes of Aphrodite, he turned back to the image of Diana. "Ares came to me…"

He stopped when, at the utterance of Ares' name, Aphrodite muttered a curse so ancient and vicious that Morpheus could only laugh quietly at it. He looked at the goddess out of the corner of his eye. "Such words are unworthy of crossing your beautiful lips, my lady."

Aphrodite inclined her head in apology. "Forgive my lapse in proper etiquette, Morpheus, but any mention of Ares reminds me of…well, times best forgotten." She took a breath to compose herself. "Please forgive my interruption."

Morpheus nodded graciously. "Of course, my lady. I have also come to wish that I could forget my time spent with Ares. As I said, Ares came to me, bellyaching about Diana and how she constantly involved herself in the affairs of the gods, meddling in things that were not her concern." Morpheus turned to face Aphrodite. "He made a compelling argument, especially to someone who trusts so easily," he said ruefully. "I know now that nearly every word he said that day was a deception, all said with the intention of involving me in a plot to destroy the Amazon."

Aphrodite placed her right hand upon Morpheus' left shoulder. "Do not trouble yourself, Morpheus." Aphrodite smiled and let her hand fall to rest once again by her side. "Ares is good at many things that enable him to perform his wicked deeds. Deception is only one of them."

Morpheus grunted his agreement. "At any rate, he was so convincing that I swore an oath to help him achieve his goal."

"Oh," replied Aphrodite, understanding immediately the implications of Morpheus' last statement. Morpheus was well known amongst the gods as being incredibly noble and trustworthy. Ares preyed on those wholesome traits, playing on Morpheus' pride as a god, maneuvering him into swearing to help him in his quest of revenge against Diana. And once Morpheus, perhaps the most decent among them, gave his word, he would not go back on it.

She had to grudgingly hand it to Ares…it was a brilliant plan.

Morpheus caught the meaning behind Aphrodite's one word response. "Yes, my lady. I swore to help Ares destroy Diana's happiness, and I must do exactly as I have promised."

It was pointless to ask him, but she had no choice. "Is there no way for you to avoid doing this, Morpheus?"

Morpheus smiled sadly, openly showing his regret and shame at his role in the situation. "Only one, my lady." Aphrodite studied Morpheus hopefully. "Ares must release me from my vow. That is the only way."

Aphrodite felt the hope ebb from within her.

Morpheus shifted in his spot uncomfortably and avoided Aphrodite's gaze. "I know you have a history with Ares, my lady. Would he not listen to you on the Amazon's behalf?"

Aphrodite laughed a mirthless laugh and turned to regard Diana's image. "No, my dear Morpheus. Ares and I parted on less than civil terms, to put it mildly." She turned to face Morpheus once more. "If I attempt to intervene on Diana's behalf, he may double his efforts to harm her out of spite."

Morpheus despondently shook his head. "Then there is no hope, Aphrodite. I have sworn to help him and I must abide by word. And he will not release me from my vow of his own accord."

"No," agreed Aphrodite, but she was not willing to give up yet. "Perhaps there is another way to force Ares to release you from your vow."

A confused Morpheus turned towards Aphrodite. "Another way?"

Aphrodite smiled a conspiratorial smile, which grew and grew as she thought more about her idea. "Yes, noble Morpheus, another way." Aphrodite slowly walked around the dream pool until she was directly across from Morpheus, then she looked at her fellow deity with a mischievous glint in her blue eyes. "Ares will not listen to you, nor will he listen to me. Therefore, we must enlist the aid of someone who has some influence over Ares, and who will be amenable with our cause to help Diana."

Morpheus couldn't get past the part where this someone needed to have some influence over Ares. Was there someone who could truly influence the god of war?

Aphrodite walked quickly away from the pool, her dress and hair billowing around her from the sudden movement. When she was far enough away from Morpheus and his dream pool, she turned and faced him again. "I must leave but I shall return soon, Morpheus. Will you do something for me?"

Morpheus narrowed his eyes and stroked his beard with his left hand. "Of course, my lady, if I am able."

Aphrodite smiled and asked, "Will you refrain from influencing Diana's dreams until I return?"

Morpheus considered the request for a moment. If there was a way to get him out of this horrendous scheme, then he had to try to find it and Aphrodite apparently had an idea to that end.

He bowed respectfully from the waist as he said, "Of course, Aphrodite." He straightened to his full height. "But I beg you to act swiftly, my lady."

Aphrodite inclined her head in respect and appreciation. "Very swiftly, Morpheus. I shall see you soon."

With a flash, the goddess of love was gone, leaving Morpheus alone once again. This time however, instead of feeling despair and regret over his actions, Morpheus felt a slight twinge of hope, and he silently wished Aphrodite all the luck in the world.

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Aphrodite arrived at her destination a moment later to the many curious glances of those in attendance of the races. The foot races, part of the celebration called the Heraia, were often entertaining, partly because it included only female participants.

Aphrodite walked with regality worthy of the title of goddess up the nearby steps to the main floor of the temple, the mainstay of the realm, her dress and hair flowing behind her. She walked past the many entrance columns of the temple to the main dais upon which rested a throne made of pure gold and adorned with many precious gems, all of which sparkled brightly in the light.

Aphrodite stopped at the edge of the dais, not daring to step onto the platform without the permission of the one from whom she sought an audience. She waited patiently, with her hands clasped in front of her, and when the ruler of the realm finally looked at her, Aphrodite bowed her head respectfully. After being granted permission to approach the occupant of the throne, she stepped up on the dais and approached her fellow deity until she was as close to the throne as she needed to be.

"Forgive me for interrupting you in the middle of your festival," began Aphrodite remorsefully as she lowered her gaze in respect, "but it is a matter of grave importance, and time is of the essence." Aphrodite looked up into a pair of mildly interested emerald eyes. "It concerns Diana of Themyscira." The interest in the eyes of her host moved quickly from mild to extreme. "And Ares," added Aphrodite. The irate look that materialized instantly on the face of her host when she mentioned Ares, told her that she had come to the right place to seek assistance.

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Morpheus watched attentively as Diana slept contentedly for the first time during the night. Morpheus found himself to be enviable of the life Diana seemed to have, or more precisely, Morpheus was almost jealous of the love that Diana shared with Batman, though how anyone could love someone as seemingly mentally unbalanced as Batman was beyond him.

Then again, perhaps it was another facet of Diana's immeasurable strength, to find the best in everyone, even the Batman, and embrace it with all of her heart.

Morpheus didn't have time to delve deep into those thoughts when Aphrodite's return was once again heralded by a warm gust of wind and flash of white light. She didn't take long at all.

When he looked up at the goddess of love, he could not help but grin when Aphrodite smiled widely at him and nodded once.

"It is done, Morpheus," announced Aphrodite, who walked up to Morpheus and stood next to him. She looked down into the dream pool to check on Diana, and seeing that she was sleeping peacefully she added, "Now, we wait."


	8. A Goddess' Intervention, Pt II

1. I still do not own Batman, Wonder Woman or anything associated with them or the Justice League.

2. I'd once again like to thank Alittlesummerwine for the beta. How so prolific a writer finds the time to beta is beyond me, but I'm glad you do it.

3. A big thanks to everyone who reviewed, and as always, any feedback, be it positive, negative or indifferent, would be most appreciated.

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Diana gently rolled over onto her right side and barely opened her left eye, just enough to verify that Bruce still hadn't returned, or at the very least hadn't come to bed. After stifling a moan of disappointment, her eye drifted shut again, sending her towards another few moments of blissful rest, at least that's what she hoped as darkness began to overwhelm her mind.

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In another Olympian realm, another celebration was in full swing, complete with tables full of fine foods and wines that would satisfy even Dionysius' excessive thirst, and enough scantily clad women to satisfy…well, anyone, even the god of war.

Who said the Romans had a monopoly on decadence?

Ares sat on his silver throne and surveyed the festivities with an air of satisfaction about him. The enormous banquet hall, brightly lit by a thousand candles of all shapes and sizes, served as the gathering place for the celebration and was nearly overflowing with people which suited him just fine. The way he looked at it, the more the merrier, even if those in attendance didn't know exactly what it was that they were celebrating.

There was a part of him that thought that perhaps his little party was premature, but there was no way that Diana would survive Morpheus' dreams, at least on an emotional level.

And her emotions were her weakness. Ares knew that Diana was a powerful warrior. But she was also a creature of peace, and as a consequence, love, and because of that the best way, perhaps the only way to truly get to her, was through her love for the mortal.

And Morpheus. Ah poor, trustful Morpheus. Ares grinned evilly at the thought of how he had tricked Morpheus into swearing to help him get even with Diana. Morpheus' weakness was his honor, a weakness that was easy to exploit; for Ares at any rate. Morpheus would torment the Amazon until his vow was satisfied no matter how much he detested it.

Hence the raucous merriment currently in progress around him. Ares chuckled softly and nodded as a particularly beautiful maiden picked up a large grape from a nearby bowl, then held it up to his mouth for him to eat. He grinned suggestively to the young maiden, then opened his mouth and moved forward to capture the grape in his mouth, being sure to nip at the maiden's finger as well. The young maiden yelped in surprise, and as her face turned red from embarrassment she skipped away from Ares, turning her head enough to give the god a bashful glance.

Ares leaned his head back and roared with laughter, which gained in volume as those near him joined in. The laughter went on for some time, until Ares himself stopped and beckoned with his right hand for the maiden who fed him the grape to return to him.

As the young woman made her way back to the throne, proceeding slowly and carefully due to the increasing number of intoxicated and rowdy partygoers, Ares wondered briefly about Diana's current state of mind. Had she broken yet? Was she distraught? Had she left her lover? Had her love died, or more importantly had her love been twisted into something that she could not endure?

All thoughts of Diana hastily fled his mind when the young woman appeared before him. She curtsied, and while Ares expected it from her as a sign of respect, for some reason he found it…cute, this time.

The maiden walked behind Ares, then started gently massaging the sides of his neck, as she unable was to massage his shoulders because of his armor.

_"The wench's fingers are magical,"_ thought Ares as he closed his eyes in contentment. He was surprised at how relaxed he had become, at how good he was feeling. Even the noise generated by the festivities had died down, almost ceased as a matter of fact.

He was just about to whisk himself and the maiden away to somewhere more private when she stopped her wonderful ministrations, causing Ares to open his eyes and prepare to smite the woman down where she stood for stopping.

The sight before him brought forth an anger within his chest that he hadn't felt since his humiliation at the hands of Athena on the Trojan battlefield. Everything was gone…everything. The tables, the food, the wine, the people…everything. The banquet hall, now dimly lit by only a handful of candles, was now bare of everything save his throne, and him of course, where only a moment before the place was teeming with people.

Ares bolted up out of his throne, prowling forth like a lion awakened from a lazy slumber before he was rested, stepping towards the center of the room and bellowing, "What in the name of Zeus is going on?"

"Not Zeus, Ares," replied a stately female voice from off to his right.

Ares froze in his tracks, his eyes opened wide in shock and his perfect eyebrows rose upward, nearly blending with his blond hairline. He instinctively grabbed his long purple cape in his left hand, and then turned to face the owner of the voice that disturbed him so much.

Slowly he turned, seemingly taking far too long to turn such a short distance. When he finally faced his newest, and now only, guest, Ares forced a smile upon his face and took a single step towards her. The only greeting that could make its way to his mouth through the enormous sense of shock was a slightly crackly, "Mother."

Hera stood perfectly still in her place, her white robes hanging perfectly about her, secured about her waist as Aphrodite's was with a golden cord. She narrowed her eyes menacingly at her son, showing her disappointment and anger at not being shown the proper respect due to her not only as his mother, but as the queen of the gods.

Ares immediately realized his misstep, fell to one knee and then bowed his head slightly. "Forgive my momentary lapse of proper manners, Mother," he raised his head to look at Hera, "but your visit is completely unexpected."

Ares studied his mother for a moment as he would an enemy on the battlefield. Hera had that quality about her, that certain something that exuded royalty and automatically demanded the utmost respect. The way she held herself, straight back and chin slightly uplifted; the way she walked, with confidence and deliberateness; the way her hands remained calm when she spoke, whether she was having a pleasant conversation or tearing a strip off of someone for displeasing her; it all added to her powerful aura.

Perhaps her most obvious weapon, that devious device that without fail disarmed those who had the misfortune of underestimating her, had to be her beauty, which nearly rivaled that of Aphrodite. The myths about her eyes were true for the most part; they were larger than one would find on the average goddess, if a goddess could be considered average, and they were the most striking shade of green. They also had the habit of boring straight into the soul of whomever she happened to gaze upon. Her long honey brown hair flowed about her, and it was so shiny that when the light bounced off of it, it looked as though she was glowing. The crown she wore upon her head was made of gold, but was simple in its design. It wasn't small enough to be able to ignore, yet it wasn't so big that it took away from her beauty. It just added to her majesty.

"Unexpected," intoned the queen of the gods neutrally. "I daresay it is." She walked smoothly to where Ares still knelt, her dress billowing around her legs. "Stand up, Ares." When Ares complied, standing up straight but keeping his eyes lowered, Hera gave her son a short and frustration filled sigh. "I seem to have interrupted a rather important celebration, Ares." She tilted her head slightly to one side. "What were you celebrating?"

Ares looked up into the emerald gaze that was so focused on him he wanted nothing more than to go away. It didn't matter where he ended up, just as long as his mother wasn't looking at him so…suspiciously. "Nothing in particular, Mother." As soon as he said it, he regretted it.

Hera's eyes narrowed and her delicate jaw clenched together. Suddenly she smiled, though it was far from a sweet smile. It was a slightly vicious smile, a smile that told the god of war that he was in trouble.

Hera clasped her hands in front of her and began to very slowly walk around Ares in a clockwise motion, saying as she moved, "Such an extravagant celebration for no reason, Ares?" She completed one circle around Ares and began another one. "Even gods usually have a reason to celebrate. Are you certain you did not have a reason, Ares?" She stopped in front of Ares, in effect demanding an answer.

Ares met his mother's eyes and forced himself to remain still and calm as he lied to her. "Positive, Mother. No reason at all." Ares commanded his left foot, which suddenly had a mind of its own and wanted to move, to remain still. "I was simply in a festive mood, Mother. That is all."

"A festive mood," repeated Hera, obviously unconvinced. She turned her head to her left and apparently eyed something which brought a small smile to her lips. She looked back to Ares for an instant before turning back to her left and walking towards Ares' throne. When she reached the throne, she stood in front of it, then turned to regard Ares, to watch his face as she sat down in his throne.

Ares was livid, though he dared not show it. He walked towards his throne and stood a comfortable distance away from it, and his mother. Angry at having someone else, even his mother and the queen of the gods, in his throne, Ares felt bold enough to ask, "Is there something wrong with a god wanting to throw a party, Mother?"

Hera took the question in stride, simply shaking her head in a negative response. "I grow tired of this silly game, Ares, and I am missing what promised to be some very entertaining races." She looked at him intently with narrowed eyes and ice dripping from her voice. "Leave Diana alone, Ares."

Ares stepped back, more out of shock than anything else, yet still had the presence of mind to feign ignorance as he held out his hands in question and asked, "Diana, Mother? What does she…?"

"I said enough games, Ares," said Hera, her voice getting louder and louder with every word until she was nearly shouting by the time she said his name. When she continued her voice echoed throughout the hall with the power of a goddess. "You will leave Diana alone, Ares. She has served us well when called upon, and I will not allow your pettiness to harm her further."

"Served us well, Mother?" asked Ares incredulously, dropping the pretense that he didn't know what she was talking about. He took a step towards his throne, nearly bristling with anger. "She has interfered with our affairs…"

"With Zeus' blessing, Ares, and mine," interrupted Hera. Seeing the look of shock on his face, Hera added harshly, "Yes, Ares, even with your little project in Kasnia which Diana so skillfully ended."

Ares bristled at the pride in **his** mother's voice as she spoke of the Amazon. "But she…"

Again Hera interrupted. "Enough, Ares," she said dismissively as she stood up from the throne and walked past Ares. "I have spoken and that is all there is to it."

Ares wrung his fists in anger, and he could not control the fury in his voice when he turned towards her and exclaimed to her back, "I will not stop!"

Hera spun around to face Ares. Lightning lit up the skies and thunder roared so loudly that the very room seemed to shake. Hera's eyes were aglow with white hot anger and her voice seemed to be even louder than the thunder. "I will command you one more time to let Diana be, Ares." The light left her eyes, but her voice retained its power as she walked slowly up to Ares. "You will no longer interfere with her life in any way, shape, or form." She thought for a moment. "Go to Morpheus, Ares, and release him from his vow." At the surprised widening of Ares' eyes, Hera said in her normal voice, "Yes, Ares, I am aware of the vow you tricked Morpheus into making with you. Dissolve the pact. Do not torment Morpheus further, and rest assured that I will be watching, Ares." She started to turn away from her son, but stopped and turned back to add something. "Do not force me to speak of this with you again, Ares. Believe me that if that should happen, you would find it most unpleasant."

As an example, Hera lifted her right hand and pointed it past Ares' shoulder. Ares turned around just in time to see a bolt of white lightning fly down from the heavens through the roof of his sanctuary and hit his throne. The throne was engulfed in an electrical firestorm, and when it ended moments later, all that was left was a pile of molten silver on the floor.

Hera lowered her arm and asked, "Do you understand me, Ares?"

She left no room for misunderstanding, no room for interpretation, no room for negotiation. Defeated, Ares had no choice but to mutter, "Yes, Mother."

Hera gave Ares a half smile and raised her right hand to touch Ares' blond hair. "And shorten your hair, Ares. You're as shaggy as an unkempt minotaur."

Ares hung his head and whispered, "Yes, Mother."

Hera turned away from Ares once more and walked a short distance away before stopping and turning to face him again. "Heed my warning, Ares, and obey my commands."

With that, Hera disappeared in a ball of white light.

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Morpheus stood alone at the edge of his dream pool. Aphrodite told him that Ares should soon make an appearance and it would be best if the god of war didn't find her there. He gazed into his pool and watched as Diana smiled in her sleep. He knew that she wasn't dreaming, yet she smiled. _"Perhaps,"_ thought Morpheus, _"it is because I have left her alone, and her natural inner peace has taken over."_

The thought lifted some of the guilt from his shoulders, allowing him to finally feel a little better about himself; that is until he heard and felt the arrival of Ares to his realm. With a small sigh he turned to face Ares.

The first thing that he noticed was the look of rage on the face of the god of war.

"I have come to release you from your vow, god of dreams," stated Ares with a harshness that was lost on Morpheus. He was in too much shock over the meaning of the statement to comprehend the tone.

"Do not trouble the Amazon any further," continued Ares.

"Thank you, Ares," managed Morpheus who was still so mired in disbelief that he thought that he may have been dreaming himself.

"Do not thank me!" roared Ares as he took a threatening step towards Morpheus. He pointed his right index finger at Morpheus and bellowed at the top of his voice, "I will have my revenge on her, and I will pay you back for your…"

"ARES!" came a very powerful voice from overhead, so powerful in fact that the reverberation from it caused ripples to appear in the dream pool, and caused both gods to look upward. "I HAVE WARNED YOU!"

"Yes, Mother," said Ares penitently. Ares spoke no more, though his eyes still burned with anger. He stepped back a pace and disappeared in a ball of fire.

A moment later, a soft white flash heralded the arrival of the goddess of love. Morpheus smiled at the newly arrived deity.

"You went to Hera, Aphrodite?" he asked, incredulity and awe evident in his tone.

Aphrodite returned Morpheus' smile. "It seemed the only course of action, Morpheus." Aphrodite walked to the dream pool and saw that Diana was still asleep. "Hera is the only one that Ares ever listened to. And Hera adores Diana." She looked to Morpheus. "It was our best hope."

Morpheus laughed for what seemed to be the first time in an eternity. "Our best hope indeed, my lady." Morpheus regarded Aphrodite humbly. "You have managed to rid me of Ares, and release me from a task that I had no desire to accomplish. My heart is no longer heavy with guilt." He bowed his head respectfully. "How can I ever repay you, Aphrodite?"

Aphrodite reached over, placed her slender index finger underneath the chin of Morpheus and slowly lifted up the head of the god of dreams. When he looked at her she lowered her hand. "There is nothing to repay, noble Morpheus. You have been wronged, and I tried to correct it. It was within my power to do so, and I am glad of it." She hesitated for a second. "However, if you feel obligated to do something…"

"Anything, my lady," offered Morpheus.

Aphrodite turned to regard Diana's image, and when she nodded at the pool Morpheus understood immediately.

With a smile of relief, happiness and gratitude on his bearded face, Morpheus, reached into the pool for the last time to influence Diana's dreams…


	9. 6:00 AM

Well, this is it…the last chapter. Thank you to those who bothered to keep up with this little fic o' mine. I'd also like to give a big thank you to those of who took the time to review.

Of course, an enormous thanks goes to alittlesummerwine for putting up with me and making what were without fail incredible suggestions and corrections. Thanks, ALSW.

I still don't own anything concerning Batman, Wonder Woman or Justice League.

And just a little note concerning the xiphos. It is a double-edged, single-hand sword used by the ancient Greeks. Definition courtesy of Wikipedia.

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Though her eyes didn't open, Diana's consciousness floated to the surface just enough to register that she was warm and safe. That was all. She didn't awaken enough to remember where she was, or what a terrible night she had had…only that she was warm and safe.

She never even realized that she smiled as her mind drifted back into sleep and into another dream…

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Diana stood in the teleporter of the Watchtower, trying not to smooth out her knee length black spaghetti strap dress for the tenth time while waiting patiently for Mr. Terrific to initiate the process that would take her to the Batcave. It was always a tedious process, going to the Batcave when Bruce wasn't around to handle the controls himself. With all the safety procedures and security protocols that Bruce had put into the system for transport to the cave to keep its location a secret, it took time.

Mr. Terrific finally gave her the signal and she readied herself for the teleport; not that there was much she could do to get ready. It just happened, really. A flash of light and you were in another place.

She saw the telltale flash and felt the sudden, yet pleasingly familiar, chill of the cave along her arms and legs. A quick look around showed her that there was no one in the cave, and by the absence of the Batmobile she realized that Bruce had gone out into his city in the guise of Batman. She was surprised that Alfred hadn't…

"Good evening, Miss Diana," greeted the elderly butler warmly from the bottom of the stairs. He stood there looking at her with a kind expression upon his face, though his body language was all butler, complete with straight posture and hands clasped behind his back.

She hadn't even heard him open the secret passage, let alone walk down the stairs. _"What is it with these men and their stealth?"_ Diana asked herself. To Alfred, she smiled and responded with, "Good evening, Alfred." She glanced to the Batmobile's usual resting place, turned back to Alfred and said, "I presume Bruce is not at home."

Regret flashed in Alfred's eyes. "I am afraid not, Miss, though I anticipate his return shortly. Commissioner Gordon requested his help with a perplexing case…nothing too serious, I am happy to say."

Diana knew that the relief she felt at that tidbit of knowledge made it onto her face when Alfred's lip turned up in a very short smile. "Thank you, Alfred. I'll…just wait here, I guess." She took one step towards Bruce's chair next to the Batcomputer when Alfred's appalled voice reached her ears.

"You most certainly will not wait here, Miss." She looked at the butler and saw a stern look instead of his usually kind features. "I will not allow any guest of Master Bruce to wait in this dingy hole in the ground, especially a guest as important to him as you are." He stepped aside and motioned with his right arm up the stairs. "Come up stairs, Miss. Master Bruce will know where to find you."

_"What does he mean 'especially a guest as important to him as you are'?" _wonderedDiana. A flare of hope, albeit a little one, as she knew that allowing herself to hope when it came to Bruce was a dangerous game, exploded in her chest.

A subtle clearing of a throat brought her attention back to the cause of her introspection. She was well aware that Alfred's stubborn streak matched Bruce's, perhaps even surpassed it. When it came to matters of proper protocol and the comfort of his guests, Alfred was the irresistible force **and** the immovable object. Admitting defeat, she walked to the stairs, looping her right arm in Alfred's in a gesture of warmth and something beyond friendship.

Alfred took it all in stride and led them up the stairs, his sure and steady steps showing the familiarity that came with years of walking them. When they stepped out into the light of the manor, Diana released Alfred to allow him to close the entrance to the cave.

"Now, Miss," said Alfred when he had finished. "Where would you prefer to wait? The kitchen? The study, perhaps?"

Diana thought for a second before replying. "The library, if it's all right with you, Alfred." She could always read what a travesty the historians made of ancient Greek history if Bruce took too long.

"Of course, Miss," responded Alfred as though he had known what room she would choose. And perhaps he did. Not all of Bruce's deductive abilities were self taught…some of it, perhaps a great deal of it, was learned from Alfred. "If you will follow me?"

Diana nodded and followed the butler as he led her to the library. She knew where it was anyway, she had been in there before of course, but she decided to humor Alfred and let him do his duty.

As they walked Diana, knowing all too well of Bruce's painstaking efforts to keep his identity as Batman a secret, had to ask, "Alfred, how would you explain to someone that Wonder Woman is in Wayne Manor?"

Alfred remained silent until a few seconds later when they reached the library, but after he opened the door to the room he met her gaze and responded. "Despite its calm and peaceful façade, Miss Diana, Wayne Manor has a security system that would make the Secret Service green with envy. The upgrades Master Bruce made after the Thanagarian invasion boggles the mind. We would know if anyone were coming in plenty of time to retreat to the cave or make some other arrangement." Alfred smile. "Please wait here, Miss."

Diana watched as Alfred went into the room and did a quick survey of the library. She knew that he was checking to make sure that the room was presentable for company, and she could tell that something was bothering him when he moved out of sight for a moment and she heard something that sounded suspiciously like annoyed muttering, which was then followed by the sounds of books being put back on their shelves. But when Alfred returned a minute later, his demeanor and appearance was totally ordinary.

She lifted her eyebrows at Alfred in curiosity, and Alfred, never above embarrassing Bruce said, "You would think a man as meticulous as Master Bruce is when it comes to protecting his alter ego or planning an adventure would be as efficient in cleaning up after himself."

Diana couldn't help but laugh at the concept of a messy Bruce as much as she laughed at the irritation in Alfred's voice.

"At any rate, Miss, the library is ready." He stepped out of the way to allow her to enter. Diana nodded gratefully to Alfred and stepped inside.

"Would you like some refreshments, Miss?" asked Alfred kindly. "Some juice or a snack?"

Diana smiled, which she realized she did quite often in Alfred's company and shook her head. "No thank you, Alfred."

Alfred nodded in acknowledgement and said, "Very well, Miss. I will be in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on dinner if you require anything."

With that Alfred walked down the hall towards the kitchen. Diana watched the butler move swiftly yet quietly. _"How does he do it?"_ she asked herself again. She shook her head in wonder and walked into the library. It was, as one would imagine, very well stocked with books of all types, regarding all subjects from all over the world.

She moved to the wall where she had found a book or two about Greek history the last time she was in the library. Her brow furrowed in confusion when after searching through the section twice there was no sign of any books regarding that subject. She was just about to look for a third time when Alfred's voice nearly startled her enough to jump.

"You will not find them there, Miss," stated Alfred, who, Diana noticed, had a small tray in his hands containing a pitcher of ice water and a single glass. He moved inside the room and placed the tray upon the heavy oak desk that rested in the center of the room, then moved to the section of books nearest the desk. "After your last visit, Master Bruce asked me to arrange all the books regarding anything Greek in this section, Miss."

Diana was stunned speechless, which disturbed her to a very large degree. She knew Bruce pretty well; she knew that he was more thoughtful and considerate than he let on. His kindness wasn't as outwardly apparent as Clark's, for example, but it was more meaningful and more intense in its own way.

She looked to where Alfred was standing to find the spot empty, and for a moment she wondered just how long she had been in that little funk when Alfred's voice came from the doorway.

"Is there anything else I can do for you, Miss?" he asked kindly.

Diana regarded him with a mixture of appreciation and annoyance. "Yes, Alfred, there is." At his questioning look she said playfully, "Please stop sneaking around me. I find it very…disturbing."

Alfred didn't quite smile as he nodded. "A butler should never disturb his guests, Miss." He turned to leave but stopped and looked back over his shoulder with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Then again, what fun would there be in that?"

She was still doing mental sums in her head in an effort to determine if Alfred was serious or joking when she realized that he had left…quietly. Not able to find it within herself to be angry with Alfred, she could only smile as she walked to the section that Alfred had indicated.

She was looking through the books, her right hand grazing softly across the spines of the books as she read their titles, and wondered exactly why Bruce had asked her to come here tonight.

She thought back to earlier in the day…

It had been a long and exhausting three says since they had defeated Darkseid's invasion, with the members of the League working twenty-four hours a day for those three days with the cleanup and rendering any assistance they could.

When she had finally beamed up to the Watchtower this morning, she had been more than ready for a hot bath, a monster sized ice mocha, and her nice, warm, comfy bed.

That plan fled her mind in a heartbeat however, when none other than Batman met her when she materialized aboard the Watchtower. He looked as tired as she felt, but more than that, he looked a little…uncertain. He was eerily still and had his dark cape drawn around him like a shield.

And he was looking right at her.

She stepped down onto the deck, walked over to him and waited. She looked into the opaque eyes of the cowl for several minutes until she had been forced to wonder if he was actually asleep standing up. She smiled softly and had turned to go to her quarters when his arm shot out with the speed of Hermes and held her left arm, just above her elbow.

"Diana," he said in a quiet monotone. "Come to…"

He stopped and appeared to do a restart, trying to come up with the proper phrasing. She found it endearing.

"Could you come by the manor this afternoon?" he asked so softly that she wasn't sure she heard him correctly.

The area of her arm covered by his hand was becoming increasingly warm. Pushing through the shock, she answered, "Of course. What time?"

He hesitated as though he had been unprepared for the question, or hadn't expected a positive response. "Six o'clock." He cleared his throat. "Dinner. Come by…please, come by for dinner."

Diana managed to keep her emotions- the anticipation, the hope and the nervousness- in check and responded with a burgeoning smile. "I would love to," she looked around to make sure no one was near then leaned in closer to him, just in case, and whispered, "Bruce."

He almost smiled. Not quite, but it was very close.

"Good," he pronounced brusquely as he released her arm. He then strode to the teleporter controls, entered a few codes, and stepped onto the platform.

"See you then," he said in a business like tone, but his tone softened considerably when he added, "Princess."

He disappeared and after a moment of trying to figure out what had just happened, she realized that she only had a couple to hours to get ready. The next couple of hours were a blur of hairstyles, dresses and outfits, make up decisions and a number of other things she couldn't even remember in her blurry haze of anticipation.

All of which had brought her to this point, waiting in the library of Wayne Manor for Batman to come home.

She hoped she wouldn't have to wait too…

"I'm glad you could make it, Princess," came a familiar voice from the door.

"Wouldn't miss it," she said casually as she turned to face him. When she saw him her breath hitched in her chest for a second. He was wearing a very flattering black suit with a white button up shirt underneath the jacket. He wasn't wearing a tie and the top two buttons were left undone.

Handsome didn't do his appearance justice.

Bruce slowly entered the library. His eyes were as focused as she had ever seen them, and to her surprise, the fact that she was the object of their scrutiny did not bother her at all. In fact, she quite enjoyed being the center of attention for Bruce.

She met his gaze, as a warrior would meet the attack of an enemy. She would not back down, nor would she let him know just how much his intense gaze was affecting her.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Diana, Bruce smiled. It wasn't the foolish playboy smile she had seen on Bruce Wayne at any number of functions, nor was it the half smile Batman allowed himself on very rare occasions. No, it was a full fledged and totally honest smile.

He walked over to join her near the shelf of books. When he was standing next to her he took a deep breath and spoke. "I would imagine you've been asking yourself why I would ask you here." When Diana, flushed with amusement, nodded her verification of his assessment, he went on. "When Clark, Luthor and I went after Darkseid, I really didn't expect to survive."

All amusement at Bruce's discomfort fled her at that honest proclamation. He said it so calmly, so clinically, without any hint of emotion.

Bruce turned to regard one of the multitude of books along the wall, avoiding her scrutiny in the process. "The situation seemed more than a little hopeless. Clark, at the best of times, can barely manage to hold his own against Darkseid. Add to the mix Luthor's unpredictability and the fact that he could stab us in the back at any time, the odds of getting out of there in one piece decreased dramatically."

Diana was stunned. She had never before heard the usually supremely arrogant and confident Batman talk so grimly.

Still looking at the books, Bruce went on. "When Darkseid shot his Omega beams at me and I tried to avoid them, several things flashed through my mind. Dick, Tim, Alfred, Gotham. But the most glaring of them all," he turned to look into her eyes as he finished with a whisper, "was you."

Diana felt her eyes widen in astonishment. He noticed and something slammed shut in his eyes as he looked to her feet. She could almost see the war within him play out in his eyes, and she had to fight the strong urge to go to him and hold him. If she did that, she knew, it would be saying good-bye to any chance they had, if they had any chance at all. The storm in his eyes, the swirling blue and gray intensified into a maelstrom as the battle raged on. She waited, trying to breathe normally and maintain her composure, but she nearly jumped in her place when he suddenly found her eyes with his own and, as she looked into his eyes, the storm having passed, leaving his usual handsome blue eyes looking back at her.

"You," he repeated as though he hadn't just struggled to continue. "Despite my best efforts at keeping you at arms length, Princess, you've managed to get in." He inched closer to Diana, who was too enthralled by his honesty and the situation as a whole to so much as bat an eyelash. "The beams were coming at me, and all I could think about, was the regret I felt at not giving us a chance."

Bruce moved even closer to Diana, who now realized that she had been holding her breath and tried to subtly draw in some much needed oxygen before the sudden ringing in her ears overcame her.

"There are things, decisions and choices, I've made in my life that I'm not happy with, Diana", he said softly, "but I've never regretted them. I've accepted responsibility for them and learned to live with them." Bruce's right hand reached up and softly stroked Diana's left cheek. "But God help me, as those red beams got closer and I tried to dodge them, I actually felt regret over my decision about us. I really did wonder 'what if' for a fraction of a second." His left hand moved up to gently rub her right cheek, then his hands cupped Diana's face in a loving hold. "I've spent the better part of three days trying to figure out what it all means and I've come to an inescapable conclusion." Bruce leaned forward until his forehead rested against Diana's.

For Diana the fear, hope and anticipation she was feeling at the possible meaning of what Bruce was saying was sending her heart rate into a super sonic flutter.

"I want to be with you, Diana." He rubbed his nose against hers. "I need you in my life…I know that now. It took me nearly getting hit by those beams and the world taken over to see it, but I have…finally." He leaned back just enough to look at her, let his arms move to rest on her bare shoulders as he smiled at her.

And the nervous smile he had on his face was as impossible to ignore as the electric shock that traveled the length of her body as his hands touched her shoulders. She didn't know what to say after such an emotional display from Bruce. The super sonic flutter of her heart intensified, though she had no idea that was even possible and butterflies in her stomach appeared out of nowhere.

His voice seemed to waver ever so slightly as he said, "I just hope that it's not too late for…"

His sentence was cut off when Diana's body, sick of waiting for her mind to get up to speed, acted of its own accord. Her arms reached up and wrapped themselves around his neck, pulling him towards her until her lips met his own, initiating their first kiss since that night in the restaurant as they avoided the Thanagarians.

Bruce's momentary surprise evaporated quickly, as evidenced by his hands moving to her waist, then sliding slowly to rest on her back and, of course, the fact that he was returning the kiss with a passion.

Diana poured everything into their kiss, all her respect for him, all her joy at his words and actions, and yes, all her love. Emboldened, Diana let her tongue graze the edge of his lip, a perfectly reasonable move for one trained to be a warrior, to explore the limits of the rules of engagement and the perimeter of the 'enemies' defenses.

She couldn't completely hold in the groan of pleasure when his tongue slipped past her lips and began its own reconnaissance of her mouth. She fought to regain the initiative, but settled for a draw when their tongues fell into a comfortable caress of each other.

When the kiss ended minutes later, Bruce smirked and quipped somewhat breathlessly, "I assume that means it's not too late?"

Diana gave him a smirk of her own. "Brilliant deduction, Bruce," she teased. Her right hand left its resting place behind Bruce's head, moving along his shoulder then up to his jaw. As she gently traced the edge of his jaw line with her fingers she said, "No it's not too late, if you meant what you just said."

Bruce's jaw clenched in what for any other man would have been a flinch. "I don't blame you for doubting me, Diana," he whispered. "I haven't given you much of a reason to believe me." He hesitated before adding, "I don't know what I can say…" He stopped and locked his eyes onto hers. His eyes bored into hers with an intensity that she had never seen before.

She looked into his eyes, deep into them, past the shell that was the playboy billionaire, past the specter that was Batman, and into the very essence of Bruce, into his very soul. She realized then that this was the first time, the only time, that he had opened himself up to her in such a manner…completely and without holding anything back. And it warmed her soul.

His intense stare didn't falter, didn't waver until she smiled, and his gaze softened in what she thought was relief.

"We're really going to try this?" she asked with awe in her voice. She knew there would be other things to talk about, to work through…his three reasons, for example. But she was more than willing to try, and now that she had peered into Bruce's soul she knew that he was finally able to try as well. That was all she needed to know.

The right side of his mouth edged up a fraction. "Only if you want to, Princess." And as if to further confirm what he said, he leaned over and pressed his lips to hers. Her last thought before totally losing herself in the kiss was, _"I love you, Bruce."_

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_"I love you, Bruce,"_ thought Diana as her consciousness was awakened by sudden warm touch on her right cheek. Her journey to complete awareness was completed and her eyes began to open just in time to see Bruce leaning over her. She closed her eyes again when the tender touch of his lips trailed a series of feathery kisses along her lips. When they stopped she opened her eyes and looked up into the blue eyes of Bruce, laying in bed on his left side with his left arm underneath him, propping up his upper torso so that he could lean over her. His right hand was softly caressing her cheek.

"Hi," she whispered a little groggily. "What time is it?"

He smiled. It was the smile that she had come to understand was meant for her and only for her. She had never seen him smile like that at any one else. "Six in the morning. I didn't mean to wake you," he apologized. "But I just couldn't resist."

Diana smiled lazily, and then rolled over onto her right side so that she could face him. Her left hand reached out and ran over his naked chest, tracing scars and muscles alike. She looked into his eyes. "No new ones tonight?"

Bruce gave her a sad smirk. "No," he said quietly, "no new scars tonight. It was actually pretty quiet for a change." He leaned back a bit and his eyes narrowed in as he studied her. "What time did you go to bed? You look tired?"

She smiled and moved over and cuddled into him. Bruce moved his left arm from underneath him to wrap around her as he eased onto his back, allowing Diana to rest her head on his chest. "Couldn't sleep," she said then looked up into his eyes. "I missed you too much." It wasn't a lie.

A gentle kiss upon her forehead greeted her response. She cuddled back into him as he said a little suspiciously, "Really? I thought you might have been having nightmares."

She suppressed the grimace that wanted to run through her body. "Well," she said truthfully against his skin, "I did have a nightmare or two."

"And Alfred brought you hot chocolate," he said knowingly.

She turned her head to look at him. He was studying her closely. "Yes," she admitted. "How did you know?"

She got a Batman patented smirk in response. After a moment he asked, "Did it help?"

Diana smiled, placed her left hand on Bruce's chest and then moved up to kiss him gently on his lips. "Oh yes," she said happily. "It worked like a charm."

"Good," murmured Bruce against her lips. "What were you dreaming about when I came in?"

"This," said Diana as she leaned in and kissed him deeply….

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The image of Diana and her love vanished from Morpheus' dream pool and Morpheus turned to Aphrodite. "She is truly happy, Aphrodite."

Aphrodite smiled brilliantly. "Yes, Morpheus, she is indeed."

"Thanks to you, my lady."

Aphrodite's smile dropped a little. "Hardly, Morpheus. She found happiness on her own."

Morpheus nodded in a gesture of acquiescence. "As you wish, Aphrodite."

Morpheus fell silent and Aphrodite regarded her fellow god with some concern. "What is the matter, Morpheus?"

Morpheus looked to Aphrodite and smiled. "Nothing, my lady. I was just wondering what I could do to Ares to…repay him…for his taking advantage of my nature."

Aphrodite laughed musically. "If I may make a suggestion, noble Morpheus?"

Morpheus regarded the goddess of love curiously. "Of course, Aphrodite."

As Aphrodite detailed her idea to Morpheus, the god of dreams only just managed to hold in his laughter.

The smile on Aphrodite's face shone throughout Olympus. "After all," she said with a small shrug of her perfect shoulders, "even gods sleep."

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Ares walked across the battlefield, his armor glistening in the hot sun and his sword covered from its pointed tip to its golden hilt with the crimson life blood of his enemies. There was no one left on the uneven rocky plain to face him and he raised his sword to the sky in victory.

"I am over here, Ares!" came a mocking call from behind him.

Ares lowered his sword and turned to face the woman who had become a very painful thorn in his side. Diana stood a short distance away, apparently dressed in the battlefield armor of Athena herself and holding Athena's spear in her left hand, complimented by a xiphos in her right.

Ares' eyes narrowed in anger and he charged her, bellowing an ancient war cry, a practice that he himself began untold millennia ago. As he neared her, Diana drove the point of Athena's spear into the ground beside her and held up her sword, waiting for him to get to her.

Ares raised his sword and when he was within striking distance he drove it downward with all of his strength towards her helmeted head. She dodged the blow by moving swiftly to her right, forcing his unopposed force to bury half of his sword in the ground.

Diana used the flat edge of her sword to tap Ares tauntingly on his rump and laughed haughtily as she moved gracefully behind him.

Incensed, Ares whirled around, swinging his sword at Diana's waist in a backhand motion, only to find air when Diana nimbly jumped back slightly and bent her body at her hips. Ares then swung his sword at her head with a forehand swing, once again missing his target when Diana simply ducked.

Ares' frustration and anger grew with each miss. Finally he gripped his sword with both hands, raised it above his head and once again tried to crush Diana's skull, and once again he missed and his sword hit the ground as Diana sidestepped it as she did before.

This time, however, along with easily avoiding the blow, she brought her sword around and, with a skill that had been honed over uncounted centuries, inserted her blade into the right leg armor just below Ares' ass and pushed downward, peeling the armor off like a tin can.

Diana moved away and Ares' looked down with astonishment at his now bare leg. "How is this possible?" he asked as he looked to Diana, who had the most condescending smile on her face.

Diana twirled the sword in her hand. "Lots and lots of practice," she said, then pointed her sword past his shoulder to a small mound, "and a little divine blessing doesn't hurt."

When he turned around and looked in that direction, Ares nearly fell to his knees. In the center of the front rim of the mound stood Hera, flanked on both her left and right by other goddesses; Aphrodite, Athena, Demeter, Artemis, Nemesis, Hestia, Persephone, Hebe, all nine Muses and Nike were easily visible, but he could tell that more stood behind them. Then when he looked beyond the mound, Ares saw something that shot a stab of fear through his heart. Behind the mound stood thousands of Amazons, all armed and wearing battle dress, apparently ready for a fight.

When he turned back to Diana, the tip of her sword pressed into his throat. Ares tried to retreat, to disappear, but he was powerless. Diana raised her eyebrows at him and he let go of his sword, letting it fall to rest by his feet.

Diana planted her feet without moving the sword and reached up to hold it with both hands. She gave him a predatory look and whispered, "Don't move."

Ares closed his eyes as Diana raised her sword, and a moment later he felt a hit at his right shoulder, then a blow to his right hip. Ares drew a breath and felt another blow to his left hip, then one more to his left shoulder.

The strikes went on for what seemed like an eternity. Throughout it all, Ares didn't flinch, nor did he open his eyes at all, that is not until Diana commanded, "Open your eyes, Ares."

When he did, Ares saw that he had been turned around to face the goddesses and Amazons, and in between them stood Diana, who now had her helmet off and had it tucked underneath her left arm. Her sword was sheathed on her left hip.

And she was smiling widely and shaking with barely repressed laughter. A glance to the goddesses and Amazons showed Ares that they were all holding in their laughter and he couldn't figure out why.

Diana snickered and looked down to his waist; at least he thought it was his waist.

"A little…understated, Ares." She looked up at him. "Is that why you wear all that armor, to hide your little…?" She trailed off and glanced downward suggestively.

Ares followed her glance and his eyes opened with shock, anger and fear when he saw his armor lying in a pile at his feet. "NO!!!!!" he screamed as he brought his hands to his front to cover himself. He looked around the plain with rapid movements in search of escape, but he could find none. "Your life will be worthless when I…"

Diana sprung towards him and drew her sword in one fluid motion, resting the tip of her sword against the inside of his right thigh, turning the top edge of the blade inwards and pressing up with a not so gentle pressure.

Ares gulped.

Loudly.

Diana's eyes were fire as she leaned in and growled, "Leave me and those I love alone, Ares." She pressed her sword up a little harder and added, "Or I will make you half the god you are now."

Before he had a chance to recover, Diana withdrew her sword and raised it in triumph as she walked towards Hera, who was now clapping and cheering, as were all the females present.

Ares finally fell to his knees and, for the first time in his existence, Ares, the god of war, cried like a baby.

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Ares awoke from his not so peaceful slumber in his new throne and looked around to find himself alone. He immediately jumped up, reached down and felt immense relief when his fingers touched his armor, and relieved beyond words when he realized that the armor still covered all of him.

"Morpheus," snarled Ares as he sat back down. "I will punish you for this."

"YOU WILL DO NOTHING, ARES," came Hera's voice from, well, everywhere. "YOU DESERVED IT."

The god of war slouched down in his throne and said contritely, "Yes, Mother."

"AND ARES…WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT YOUR HAIR?"

Ares closed his eyes and wondered what he did to deserve this. He sighed and whispered, "Yes, Mother."

The End.


End file.
